No. 5 Gators have gone from the hunters to the hunted

Alex Condon (21) was SEC Co-Player of the Week

Florida’s top five ranking in the Associated Press poll tells just how far the Gators (15-1, 2-1 SEC) have come in Todd Golden’s two-plus years on the job. The top five ranking also tells you the Gators have no place to hide.

“We talked about it with our guys yesterday, that in real time, we're going from being the hunters to the hunted,” Golden said Monday before the Gators began final preparation for tonight’s SEC matchup (9 p.m., ESPNU) with Missouri (13-3, 2-1 SEC) at the O-Dome.

The target on Florida’s back grows larger with every win. Last week the Gators took down then No. 1 Tennessee at the O-Dome then Arkansas on the road at Bud Walton Arena. The Gators are at home both games this week, but just because the games will be in friendly confines with a pro-Gator crowd won’t make things easier.

When you’re No. 5 in the nation and in a league as competitive top to bottom as the Southeastern Conference everybody in the league wants a shot at taking you down. As big or perhaps bigger a problem is handling success. Too many teams plateau and fall off the cliff due to their inability to deal with their own success and that’s something Golden knows the Gators have to avoid.

“It's hard to be good,” Golden said. “It's not simple, and the better you get, the harder it is, and you know, so we're fighting against human nature. We're fighting against handling success and making sure that we approach our practices and our prep the same way we did before we received these type of rankings. And again, we talk about it all the time with our guys, like, our talent in our locker room is really good. We have really good talent, but I think the thing that makes the team special is our team talent, the way we play together when we're on the floor. And if we can continue to harness that and take pride in that, we will be in good shape, but the moment we start worrying about individual things, you know, accolades, or who's getting the credit, like, we're just going to be a good team. And so those are the things that we're constantly talking about and making sure that we don't allow affect us negatively.”

The Gators are more than capable of beating any team on their schedule, or in the entire country for all that matters. The Gators have the capability of scoring on anyone (86.2 per game, 9th nationally), but when they are focused at the other end of the floor, they get stops. The Gators are giving up 64.8 points per game, a 21.4-point differential which ranks third nationally.

In their last two games, the Gators have held Tennessee and Arkansas to a combined 30-116 (25.8 percent) from the field and only 7-45 (15.5 percent) from the 3-point line. Florida’s 3-point defense (27 percent) ranks third in the nation.

The Gators have given up 70 or more points just four times in 16 games. Tonight against Missouri they will be going against a team that knows how to put points on the scoreboard. The Tigers average 85.1 per game, which is tied for 15th nationally. The Tigers shoot 49.7 percent overall and a very respectable 37.2 percent from the 3-point line.

The Gators are quite familiar with senior guard Tamar Bates, who wore the Gators out in Columbia last year when he lit them up for 36 on a night when he hit only one 3-pointer.

“He had a monster game against us,” Golden said. “We had to live with that a little bit. He was making some tough midrange shots against us and making every free throw and in the context of that game, he was the only guy that was really hurting us. So, you don't want to allow him to get those but as long as this guy isn't making threes or this guy isn't getting rim twos, it's okay. But they are deeper and more well-rounded this year, so we can't allow him to have that kind of success. It will be harder to shut the water off on other guys this season also."

Four Tigers score in double figures led by Duke transfer Mark Mitchell (13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds), but three others are very capable of going off any given night. The Gators will have to be particularly aware of Caleb Grill (11.3 points), who is hitting 46.7 percent from the 3-point line, Marques Warrick (8.9 points) who hits 46.2 percent from deep. Bates (12.8 points) and Anthony Robinson II (10.6 points), both hit 37.5 percent on 3-pointers.

Game notes: The Gators are currently fifth in both the NCAA NET rankings and kenpom.com analytics ... Fourteen of the 16 SEC teams are ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA NET rankings -- 1. Auburn; 4. Tennessee; 5. Florida; 7. Alabama; 13. Kentucky; 17. Texas A&M; 18. Mississippi State; 23. Ole Miss; 26. Georgia; 34. Missouri; 39. Texas; 42. Vanderbilt; 47. Oklahoma and 49. Arkansas ... The Gators lead the nation in rebounding at 46.06 per game. The Gators are fourth nationally in offensive rebounds (15.56 per game).

Condon SEC Co-Player of the Week

Sophomore Alex Condon was selected SEC Co-Player of the week after a pair of double-doubles in the wins over then No. 1 Tennessee and Arkansas. Against Tennessee, Condon had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists without turning the ball over. He followed that up with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots against Arkansas. In the Arkansas game, Condon once again had zero turnovers.

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 5 FLORIDA (15-1, 2-1 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)

Missouri (13-3, 2-1 SEC): Mark Mitchell (6-9, 230, JR); Trent Price (6-10, 220, SO); Tamar Bates (6-5, 195, SR); Tony Perkins (6-4, 200, SR); Anthony Robinson II (6-3, 180, SO)

SEC Basketball

Tonight’s games

Missouri (13-3, 2-1 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (15-1, 2-1 SEC)

No. 15 Mississippi State (14-2, 2-1 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC)

No. 21 Ole Miss (14-2, 3-0 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (14-2, 3-0 SEC)

No. 11 Texas A&M (13-3, 2-1 SEC) at No. 8 Kentucky (13-3, 2-1 SEC)

Arkansas (11-5, 0-3 SEC) at LSU (11-5, 0-3 SEC)

Wednesday’s games

No. 23 Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (15-1, 2-1 SEC)

Texas (11-5, 0-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (13-3, 0-3 SEC)

South Carolina (10-6, 0-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (13-3, 1-2 SEC)

Coaches top 25: 1. Auburn 15-1; 2. Iowa State 14-1; 3. Duke 14-2; 4. FLORIDA 15-1; 5. Alabama 14-2; 6. Tennessee 14-1; 7. Marquette 14-2; 8. Houston 12-3; 9. Kentucky 13-3; 10. Kansas 12-3; 11. Texas A&M 13-3; 12. Michigan State 14-2; 13. UConn 13-4; 14. Oregon 15-2; 16. Gonzaga 14-4; 17. Memphis 13-3; 18. Mississippi State 14-2; 19. Michigan 13-3; 20. Illinois 12-4; 21. Ole Miss 14-2; 22. Utah State 16-1; 23. Georgia 14-2; 24. Baylor 11-4; 25. West Virginia 12-3

Associated Press top 25: 1. Auburn 15-1; 2. Iowa State 14-1; 3. Duke 14-2; 4. Alabama 14-2; 5. FLORIDA 15-1; 6. Tennessee 15-1; 7. Marquette 14-2; 8. Kentucky 13-3; 9. Kansas 12-3; 10. Houston 12-3; 11. Texas A&M 13-3; 12. Michigan State 14-2; 13. Oregon 15-2; 14. UConn 13-4; 15. Mississippi State 14-2; 16. Gonzaga 14-4; 17. Purdue 13-4; 18. Memphis 13-3; 19. Illinois 12-4; 20. Michigan 13-3; 21. Ole Miss 14-2; 22. Utah State 16-1; 23. Georgia 14-2; 24. Wisconsin 13-3; 25. Baylor 11-4

UF SOFTBALL RANKED NO. 1 PRESEASON

With national player of the year Jocelyn Erickson returning along with All-Americans Keagan Rothrock, Korbe Otis and Reagan Walsh, the Gators earned the preseason No. 1 ranking by Softball America. Additionally, the Gators return starters Kendra Falby (Rawlings Gold Glove center fielder), Ava Brown and Mia Williams. Florida’s roster is bolstered by outstanding transfers Kenleigh Cahalan (Alabama), Rylee Holtorf (Washington) and Kara Hammock (UNC-Wilmington). Head coach Tim Walton built on last year’s No. 1 recruiting class by bringing in a freshman group that includes Katelynn Oxley, Layla Lamar, Townsen Thomas,

Taylor Shumaker and Gabi Cormia.

The Gators open the season Feb. 6 against North Florida at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Softball America preseason top 25: 1. FLORIDA; 2. Texas; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Oklahoma State; 5. UCLA; 6. Tennessee; 7. Texas A&M; 8. Duke; 9. Texas Tech; 10. Florida State; 11. Alabama; 12. LSU; 13. Arkansas; 14. Arizona; 15. Missouri; 16. Baylor; 17. Georgia; 18. Northwestern; 19. California; 20. Liberty; 21. Nebraska; 22. Virginia Tech; 23. Michigan; 24. Virginia; 25. Penn State

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Brace yourself for these next two revelations. They are actually linked in a rather bizarre way.

1. Transfer quarterback Deshawn Purdie has asked for and been given his release to transfer somewhere not named Florida. It seems Mr. Purdie was expecting Billy Napier to hand him the No. 1 quarterback job.

2. Carson Beck, who shocked everybody last week by transferring to Miami, has allegedly signed an NIL deal worth $4 million. That is not a misprint.

Let’s start with Purdie. As a true freshman at Charlotte, he completed 50 percent of his passes, averaged 9.0 per attempt and 10 of his passes went for TDs. He threw six picks. Not a bad freshman year.

He was not recruited to Florida as a starting QB. The Gators already have a starter in DJ Lagway, who is already high on everyone’s all-too-soon Heisman Trophy candidate list. This is DJ’s team. He is the team leader and as talented a quarterback as the Gators have had since that Tebow guy. Someone obviously was filling Purdie’s head with visions of grandeur.

Rumor has it that Georgia was working Purdie hard. Considering Beck has transferred and Gunner Stockton stunk it up against Notre Dame, this is VERY believable.

On to Beck. If true that Beck will be paid $4 million to quarterback the Canes next year, then he better deliver a national championship. He’s being paid much more than Miami paid Cameron Ward, who threw for 4,313 yards and led the nation with 39 touchdown passes.

Beck’s penchant for throwing interceptions (12) and making bad decisions cratered his draft stock. Thought to be a top five pick before the 2024 season began, Beck’s stock had dipped to late second or even third day even before he suffered the elbow injury against Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

So someone please tell me how it is that Carson Beck is worth $4 million to play a season of college football. Jayden Daniels, who won the 2023 Heisman and has won a playoff game for the Washington Commanders has a base of only $2,510,727. Saquon Barkley’s base salary is only $2,420,000.

Anyway you slice it, at $4 million with an injured throwing arm Carson Beck is vastly overpaid. As my grandmother once quipped, “Some folks have more money than they’ve got brains.” Whoever is paying Carson Beck $4 million is living proof.