Gators can put an exclamation point on the SEC title tonight

Todd Golden can get his 100th win as Florida's coach tonight (Photo by Chris Spears)

Fifth-ranked Florida (23-6, 14-2 SEC) earned a slice of the Southeastern Conference pie back on Saturday when the Gators treated the 11,076 jammed into the O-Dome to a barbecue of championship proportions. Tonight they have a chance to put an exclamation point on that Southeastern Conference championship in their final home game of the season against Mississippi State (8 p.m., SEC Network).

A win tonight and it’s not just a slice it’s the entire SEC pie since it will mathematically end any chance Alabama (four SEC losses) can claim a share of the title, but it’s also a chance to give Todd Golden his 100^thwin as Florida’s basketball coach. Not even Billy Donovan got to 100 wins as quickly as Golden who is 99-39 in his fourth year with as many as 11 games to go this year with the SEC and NCAA tournaments looming. Donovan was 88-49 after four full seasons. He got his 100^th win 16 games into the 2000-2001 season.

It will also be Senior Night at the O-Dome, a chance for the Gator Nation to shower some love on Xaivian Lee and Micah Handlogten, although Handlogten might get to have a second Senior Night. The 7-1 center who comes off the bench has appealed for another season since a fractured leg prevented him from playing in the 2024 post season and kept him sidelined for the first 24 games of Florida’s 2025 NCAA championship.

So, there will be plenty to celebrate with a win over the slumping Bulldogs (13-15, 5-11 SEC), who have gone down in flames three straight games by a combined 47 points. The Gators may have an opportunity to score 100 or more points for the second consecutive game against a Mississippi State defense that has allowed 84 or more in nine of its losses.

The Gators have won nine consecutive games, rising to fifth in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, raising expectations that they will be a No. 2 seed when the NCAA announces its field of 68 teams a week from Sunday. If the Gators win tonight and Saturday at Kentucky to close out the regular season, then go on a 3-game run to win the SEC Tournament they could make a strong case for a No. 1 seed. Currently, Florida is the No. 4 team in the NCAA NET rankings. The Gators are 10-5 in Quad 1 games and 6-1 in Quad 2. Since Mississippi State ranks outside the top 100 teams in the NET rankings, a win tonight would be a Quad 3.

In the all important analytical rankings, the Gators are No. 4 at both kenpom.com and barttorvik.com. At kenpom.com, the Gators are the No. 11 team in the country in offensive efficiency and No. 4 in defensive efficiency. The Gators are No. 4 in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency in the barttorvik.com analytics.

It all adds up to a Florida team that has become one of the teams the network experts consider a legitimate threat to win a second straight NCAA championship. In eight of their last nine games, the Gators have scored at least 84 points. The Gators have scored 90 or more in nine of their SEC wins and 14 times overall this season. The Gators are No. 2 in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 71.4 points per game. For their entire 29 games, the Gators are scoring at an 87.1 per game clip, so the average winning margin is 15.7 points, best in the SEC and 9^th nationally.

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 5 FLORIDA (23-6, 14-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, JR)

Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11 SEC): Achor Achor (6-9, 230, SR); Quincy Ballard (7-0, 260, SR); Shawn Jones Jr. (6-6, 205, SR); Jayden Epps (6-2, 190, SR); Josh Hubbard (6-0, 190, JR)

Associated Press top 25: 1. Duke 27-2; 2. Arizona 27-2; 3. Michigan 27-2; 4. UConn 27-3; 5. FLORIDA 23-6; 6. Iowa State 24-5; 7. Houston 24-5; 8. Michigan State 24-5; 9. Nebraska 25-4; 10. Texas Tech 22-7; 11. Illinois 22-7; 12. Gonzaga 28-3; 13. Virginia 25-4; 14. Kansas 21-8; 15. Purdue 22-7; 16. Alabama 22-7; 17. North Carolina 23-6; 18. St. John’s 23-6; 19. Miami (OH) 29-0; 20. Arkansas 21-8; 21. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 22. Miami (FL) 23-6; 23. Tennessee 20-9; 24. Vanderbilt 22-7; 25. Saint Louis 26-3

Coaches top 25: 1. Duke 27-2; 2. Arizona 27-2; 3. Michigan 27-2; 4. UConn 27-3; 5. FLORIDA 23-6; 6. Houston 24-5; 7. Iowa State 24-5; 8. Michigan State 24-5; 9. Nebraska 25-4; 10. Texas Tech 22-7; 11. Illinois 22-7; 12. Gonzaga 28-3; 13. Virginia 25-4; 14. Purdue 22-7; 15. Kansas 21-8; 16. Alabama 22-7; 17. St. John’s 23-6; 18. North Carolina 23-6; 19. Arkansas 21-8; 20. Miami (OH) 29-0; 21. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 22. Vanderbilt 22-7; 23. Miami (FL) 23-6; 24. Saint Louis 26-3; 25. Tennessee 20-9

NCAA NET Rankings top 25 plus SEC: 1. Duke; 2. Michigan; 3. Arizona; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Illinois; 6. Gonzaga; 7. Houston. 8. UConn; 9. Purdue; 10. Iowa State; 11. Michigan State; 12. Nebraska; 13. Texas Tech; 14. Virginia; 15. Kansas; 16. Alabama; 17. Louisville; 18. Vanderbilt; 19. Arkansas; 20. Tennessee; 21. Saint Mary’s; 22. St. John’s; 23. BYU; 24. Saint Louis; 25. North Carolina (SEC: 27. Kentucky; 31. Georgia; 37. Texas; 38. Auburn; 43. Texas A&M; 53. Missouri; 62. Oklahoma; 70. LSU; 91. Ole Miss; 104. Mississippi State; 108. South Carolina

SEC in Joe Lunardi (ESPN) bracketology

East: 1. Duke; 2. Michigan State; 3. Iowa State; 4. Gonzaga (SEC: 5. Tennessee)

South: 1. UConn; 2. FLORIDA; 3. Purdue; 4. Texas Tech (SEC: 5. Arkansas; 9. Georgia; 11. Texas A&M)

Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Houston; 3. Nebraska; 4. Virginia (SEC: 5. Vanderbilt; 10. Texas)

West: 1. Arizona; 2. Illinois; 3. Kansas; 4. Alabama (SEC: 6. Kentucky; 9. Missouri)

Top 25 plus SEC in kenpom.com analytics: 1. Duke 28-2; 2. Michigan 27-2; 3. Arizona 28-2; 4. FLORIDA 23-6; 5. Illinois 22-7; 6. Houston 24-5; 7. Purdue 22-7; 8. Michigan State 24-5; 9. Iowa State 24-6; 10. UConn 27-3; 11. Nebraska 25-4; 13. Texas Tech 22-7; 14. Alabama 22-7; 15. Vanderbilt 22-7; 16. Kansas 21-8; 17. Virginia 25-4; 18. Tennessee 20-9; 19. Louisville 20-9; 20. Arkansas 21-8; 22. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 23. BYU 20-9; 24. Iowa 20-9; 25. Kentucky 19-10; (SEC: 29. Texas 18-11; 32. Georgia 20-9; 38. Texas A&M 10-10; 40. Auburn 15-14; 47. Missouri 20-9; 50. Oklahoma 15-14; 58. LSU 15-14; 79. Ole Miss 12-17; 94. South Carolina 12-17; 96. Mississippi State 13-16

Top 25 plus SEC in barttorvik.com analytics: 1. Duke 28-2; 2. Michigan 27-2; 3. Arizona 28-2; 4. FLORIDA 23-6; 5. Houston 24-5; 6. Illinois 22-7; 7. Purdue 22-7; 8. UConn 27-3; 9. Texas Tech 22-7; 10. Iowa State 24-6; 11. Michigan State 24-5; 12. Nebraska 25-4; 13. Kansas 21-8; 14. Gonzaga 28-3; 15. Tennessee 20-9; 16. Vanderbilt 22-7; 17. Alabama 22-7; 18. Virginia 25-4; 19. Louisville 20-9; 20. St. John’s 23-6; 21. Arkansas 21-8; 22. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 23. Wisconsin 20-9; 24. North Carolina 23-6; 25. Iowa 20-9 (SEC: 30. Kentucky 19-10; 35. Texas A&M 19-10; 38. Texas 18-11; 38. Georgia 20-9; 44. Missouri 20-9; 45. Auburn 15-14; 50. Oklahoma 15-14; 73. LSU 15-14; 81. Ole Miss 12-17; 99. Mississippi State 13-16; 103. South Carolina 12-17

Today’s SEC games

Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (23-6, 13-2 SEC)

No. 16 Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) at Georgia (20-9, 8-8 SEC)

No. 23 Tennessee (20-9, 10-6 SEC) at South Carolina (12-17, 3-13 SEC)

No. 24 Vanderbilt (22-7, 9-7 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-17, 4-12 SEC)

Missouri (20-9, 10-6 SEC) at Oklahoma (15-14, 5-11 SEC) 

Kentucky (19-10, 10-6 SEC) at Texas A&M (19-10, 9-7 SEC)

LSU (15-14, 3-13 SEC) at Auburn (15-14, 6-10 SEC)

Wednesday’s SEC game

Texas (18-11, 9-7 SEC) at No. 20 Arkansas (21-8, 11-5 SEC)

SEC in CBS bracketology

East: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Iowa State; 4. Kansas (SEC: 6. Kentucky; 9. Missouri)

South: 1. UConn; 2. FLORIDA; 3. Purdue; 4. Texas Tech (SEC: 5. Vanderbilt; 9. Georgia)

West: 1. Arizona; 2. Michigan State; 3. Alabama; 4. Gonzaga (SEC: 5. Tennessee; 11. Texas A&M)

Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Houston; 3. Nebraska; 4. Virginia (SEC: 5. Arkansas; 9. Texas)