Gators move up to No. 12 and on everybody's NCAA No. 3 line

Xaivian Lee was SEC Co-Player of the Week (Photo by Chris Spears)

The very last thing Todd Golden wants is for the now 12^th-ranked Gators (19-6, 10-2 SEC) to bask in the glow of a win over the Kentucky Wildcats. Any win over Kentucky is a good win and should be celebrated but not at the expense of whatever and whoever is next. In this case, it’s South Carolina (11-14, 2-10 SEC), a team the Gators whomped by 47 points back on January 28.

Things are certainly different now. When the Gators beat the Gamecocks in Columbia, they were coming off a most unexpected and disappointing home loss to Auburn. When the Gators face the Gamecocks Tuesday (7 p.m., SEC Network) at the O-Dome, they have a 5-game winning streak that has propelled them into sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference and deep into discussions about which teams have a legitimate shot at making the Final Four.

“We had been playing pretty well before the Auburn game when we probably thought we were a little better than we were and then you lose at home,” Golden said Monday afternoon. “Speaking for myself, you're worried you're a lot worse than you really think you are for the next 72 hours until you get to go play that game at South Carolina. So our response to that game made me feel a lot better, and that's what we expect from our guys.

“It gave us confidence that moving forward that you know if we can find a way to maintain that level we'll be in good shape and we pretty much did. You know, for the most part we had moments on Saturday [against Kentucky] where I didn't think we guarded the way we needed to etc., but you know we've been playing at a championship level for about a month now.”

Yes, the Gators have been playing at a championship level, so the last thing they want is a letdown against an SEC bottom feeder, especially with back-to-back road games ahead at Ole Miss and Texas. There is the matter of remaining in first place in the SEC – Florida has a 1-game lead on Arkansas, a 2-game lead on Vanderbilt, Alabama and Tennessee – as well positioning for NCAA Tournament seeding. With six games to go, a combination of four Florida wins and at least one loss to Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Tennessee will ensure the Gators win at least a piece of the SEC regular season championship. Five Florida wins and one Arkansas loss and the Gators win the SEC outright for the first time since 2014.

As for the NCAA Tournament, nearly every bracketologist has Florida on the No. 3 line. If the Gators get to 24 or 25 regular season wins, plus sweep three games in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, it’s entirely possible Florida will be a No. 2 seed. When the Gators won the SEC Tournament a year ago, they were awarded a No. 1 seed and were the fourth overall seed for the NCAA.

That is why it’s important for the Gators to show up in a big way against South Carolina. The Gators have won their last five games by a combined 118 points, which is impressive, but Golden knows this is not a time to be tapping the brakes or easing off the gas.

“Like I would love, you know, in some of these games where we've gotten up in the last eight minutes to play our younger guys and allow them to play through mistakes and develop and do those things,” Golden said. “But winning by 12 is not nearly as valuable as winning by 30 … but the reality is the best, the better seed we have in March, the better chance we have to go deeper in the tournament.

“So we can't sacrifice any of those gains at this point … we'll try to get, take advantage of those times to get younger guys some minutes and stuff like that, but  you really just get to play all 40 minutes … I think we would be in good shape to get there if we say a top four seed so that is what talking about, what are we motivated to play for.”  

XAIVIAN LEE SEC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK

In leading the Gators to wins over Georgia and Kentucky, Xaivian Lee was selected SEC Co-Player of the Week along with Texas’ Dailyn Swain. Lee had 18 points, three rebounds, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers in the win over Georgia. Against Kentucky, Lee scored 22 with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Lee went 7-16 from the 3-point line in the two games.

For the season, Lee is averaging 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Since the Auburn game, Lee has 24 assists and only four turnovers.

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

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

Tuesday’s SEC games

South Carolina (11-14, 2-10 SEC) at No. 14 FLORIDA (19-6, 10-2 SEC)

Georgia (17-8, 5-7 SEC) at No. 25 Kentucky (17-8, 8-4 SEC)

LSU (14-11, 2-10 SEC) at Texas (16-9, 7-5 SEC)

Wednesday’s SEC games

No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-4, 8-4 SEC) at Missouri (17-8, 7-5 SEC)

No. 21 Arkansas (19-6, 9-3 SEC) at Alabama (18-7, 8-4 SEC)

Oklahoma (13-12, 3-9 SEC) at Tennessee (18-7, 8-4 SEC)

Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC) at Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC)

Auburn (14-11, 5-7 SEC) at Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC)

SEC teams in CBS Sports bracketology

Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Texas Tech; 4. Alabama (Other SEC: 6. Kentucky; 9. Texas; 10. Georgia

South: 1. Houston; 2. Purdue; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Virginia (Other SEC: 11. Missouri)

East: 1. Duke; 2. Nebraska; 3. Kansas; 4. Gonzaga (SEC: 5. Arkansas; 6. Tennessee)

West: 1. Arizona; 2. UConn; 3. Illinois; 4. Vanderbilt (SEC: 11. Texas A&M)

SEC teams in NCAA NET Rankings with Quad 1 record: 9. FLORIDA 8-5; 13. Vanderbilt 7-3; 18. Arkansas 6-6; 21. Alabama 5-6; 22. Tennessee 4-7; 28. Kentucky 5-7; 32. Auburn 4-10; 37. Texas 5-6; 39. Georgia 4-6; 43. Texas A&M 3-6; 66. Missouri 3-4; 67. LSU 1-8; 68. Oklahoma 2-8; 92. Ole Miss 1-10; 94. Mississippi State 2-9; 112. South Carolina 1-8

Kenpom.com top 25: 1. Michigan 24-1; 2. Duke 23-2; 3. Arizona 23-2; 4. Houston 23-3 ; 5. FLORIDA 19-6; 6. Illinois 21-5; 7. Iowa State 23-3; 8. Purdue 21-4; 9. UConn 24-2; 10. Gonzaga 25-2; 11. Nebraska 22-3; 12. Vanderbilt 21-4; 13. Michigan State 20-5; 14. Louisville 19-6; 15. Kansas 19-6; 16. Texas Tech 19-6; 17. Arkansas 19-6; 18. Alabama 18-7; 19. Tennessee 18-7; 20. Virginia 22-3; 21. St. John’s 20-5; 22. BYU 19-6; 23. Saint Louis 24-1; 24. Utah State 22-3; 25. Iowa 18-7. Other SEC: 27. Kentucky 17-8; 29. Texas 16-9; 33. Auburn 14-11; 35. Texas A&M 17-8; 43. Georgia 17-8; 53. Oklahoma 13-12; 54. Missouri 17-8; 55. LSU 14-11; 81. Ole Miss 11-14; 86. Mississippi State 12-13; 96. South Carolina 11-14

Barttorvik.com top 25: 1. Michigan 24-1; 2. Houston 23-3; 3. Arizona 23-2; 4. FLORIDA 19-6; 5. Duke 24-2; 6. Illinois 21-5; 6. Duke 23-2; 7. Purdue 21-4; 8. Iowa State 23-3; 9. UConn 24-2; 10. Vanderbilt 21-4; 11. Texas Tech 19-6; 12. Nebraska 22-3; 13. Kansas 19-6; 14. Louisville 19-6; 15. Gonzaga 25-2; 16. Tennessee 18-7; 17. Michigan State 20-5; 18. Virginia 22-3; 19. Alabama 18-7; 20. Arkansas 19-6; 21. St. John’s 20-5; 22. Saint Louis 24-1; 23. Wisconsin 18-7; 24. Indiana 17-9; 25. North Carolina 20-5. Other SEC: 32. Texas A&M 17-8; 34. Auburn 14-11; 40. Kentucky 17-8; 41. Texas 16-9; 46. Georgia 17-8; 49. Missouri 17-8; 51. Oklahoma 13-12; 67. LSU 14-11; 83. Mississippi State 12-13; 87. Ole Miss 11-14; 103. South Carolina 11-14 

FEELING THE BURN …

Jerome Tang, Kansas State: Tang became the first casualty in what promises to be an active season in which as many as 20 coaches will be dismissed, creating a carousel of changes. Following a loss to Cincinnati Saturday, Tang let loose with a rant about his players that instantly went viral. It wasn’t the first time he’s done it, but it was his last. K-State fired him with cause. Tang has an $18.67 million buyout. He will lawyer up so expect a settlement for millions less than the buyout number.