Three days of the Gator: Florida wins SEC Tournament title

Todd Golden hoists the SEC Tournament championship trophy (UAA Photo)

“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble but we’re doing the best that we can” – from “It’s Hard to be Humble” by Mac Davis

Todd Golden wasn’t about to stick his hands in his pocket, shrug his shoulders and with false modesty give aw shucks answers at the Sunday's post game press conference in Nashville. Florida had just beaten Tennessee, 86-77, to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Gators third win in three days over a ranked opponent, earning the No. 1 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Golden sounded very much like a coach who believes there is no stopping his team if they show up focused and ready to go.

“When we’re playing like this, I think we are the best team in America,”  Golden said.

You won’t get an argument from Missouri coach Dennis Gates, Alabama coach Nate Oats or Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. All three came up with the same conclusion: the Florida Gators are a legitimate threat to win a national championship.

The Gators (30-4) turned Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena into their own personal playground, beating No. 21 Missouri 95-81 Friday night, No. 5 Alabama 104-82 Saturday afternoon and No. 8 Tennessee Sunday. Three wins over three ranked teams by a combined 45 points. There isn’t a team in the country that had a tougher road to a conference championship yet the Gators ran away with their first SEC Tournament title since 2014.

Sunday, the Gators made several threats to bust the game wide open, much the way they did Friday and Saturday, but to Tennessee’s credit, the Vols wouldn’t go away. In the end, the Gators had too much size, too much depth and too many shooters. When the game turned into a foul shooting contest, the Gators were practically on radar lock, knocking down 25 of their 28 freebies.

Once the Gators got settled into a rhythm early in the game, they played exceptional defense. The Vols hit four of their first eight 3-point attempts. They went 4-18 the rest of the way, largely because the Gators got their defensive rotations in place and began challenging everything beyond the arc. Against Florida’s taller, deeper front line, the Vols managed only 20 points in the paint.

For the most part, the Vols were one-and-done each time they had the basketball. Outrebounded by 14 overall (39-25), the Gators held a 15-5 advantage on offensive rebounds. Because the Gators controlled the rebounding, they controlled the pace of the game. Although limited to just 10 fast break points, the Gators played the game faster than the Vols could keep up.

It was the kind of win you expect of a team that has been playing like a contender the entire season but particularly the last couple of months. Of Florida’s 17 wins against Southeastern Conference opponents, eight have come against ranked teams and another six against teams that at one time or another have been ranked in the top 25.

Todd Golden has been saying the Gators are as good as anyone in the country for weeks now. While it might have sounded boastful back in January, nobody can argue the point these days and times. Think of Golden’s proclamations as warning shots across the bow of both the SEC and nation.

“I don’t worry about being humble with this group very much,” Golden said. That might sound like a coach who’s a bit full of himself to some, but as the late, great Dizzy Dean used to say, “It ain’t bragging if you done it.”  

The only question heading into the NCAA Tournament is how is it that the Gators aren’t the overall No. 1 seed? Auburn, which lost in the semifinals in Nashville to the same Tennessee team the Gators disposed of Sunday, is the overall No. 1. The Gators beat them on the road when they held down the No. 1 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls. The ACC is so pathetic that Duke won the ACC Tournament without Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils are the No.2 overall seed even though they played only two ranked teams after December 4. Houston, the No. 3 overall seed? Won the Big 12 but the Cougars also count losses to Auburn and Alabama on their resume.

So the Gators are No. 4 and heading West to San Francisco if they get past the first weekend. San Francisco is a mere 2,747 miles away if you’re planning to see the USA in your Chevrolet. Not exactly good for Florida fans, but when it comes to this team, it really doesn’t matter where the Gators are playing. In any venue and any bracket, Florida is the best team in the country.

Bar none.

With five guards who can go into shooter’s comas with only a nanosecond of notice and five bigs, all of whom are 6-9 or taller, there isn’t a team in the country that can match Florida’s depth. Florida is probably the only team in the country that has had 10 different players score in double figures.

The Gators can outrun any team in the country. Just ask Alabama, the nation’s highest scoring team, which was left holding its shorts and gasping for air Saturday. Slow it down, try to make it a half court game and the Gators are all too happy to spot up the shooters or else let the big guys bludgeon opponents into submission. Try to stop the shooters and the bigs have their way. Stop the bigs and run the risk of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin catching fire.

It helps that the Gators have the best college basketball player in America in Walter Clayton Jr. No offense to Johni Broome of Auburn and Cooper Flagg of Duke, both of them enjoying All-America seasons, but Clayton should be the national player of the year. In racking up MVP honors in Nashville, Clayton scored 62 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out 14 assists. He hit 13-26 from the 3-point line, stole the ball six times and even found time to block a shot.

Sunday, when the Vols were threatening to completely erase what was once a 13-point lead, Clayton did what first team All-Americans are supposed to do. He hit a pair of free throws with 7:30 left in the game that sort of tapped the brakes on the Tennessee rally. With 6:49 left he nailed a 3-pointer to stretch Florida’s lead to 70-64, probably the single most important shot of the entire game. Once he plunged that stiletto in the hearts of the Vols, it was just a matter of counting down the minutes and seconds until the clock flatlined at all zeroes. For good measure, Clayton made the pass that got a 3-pointer from Tommy Haugh with 4:42 left that made it a 12-point game, 76-64. The icing on the Clayton cake was a pair of free throws with 3:01 left.

Clayton’s Sunday battle damage assessment: 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

And to think, Clayton made first team All-America and SEC Tournament MVP yet one or more SEC coaches didn’t vote him first team on the All-SEC team. Go figure on that one.

Now Clayton didn’t have to do it alone Sunday. Will Richard, who joined Clayton on the All-Tournament team, had 17 points to go with two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Alex Condon scored 13, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out an assist and got a steal. Haugh had 11 points, six rebounds and an assist. Alijah Martin had 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Denzel Aberdeen’s nine points included a buzzer beater 3-pointer from close to 30 feet out to send the Gators into the halftime locker with a 39-30 lead.

Golden sent nine players onto the floor Sunday, eight of whom played at least 16 minutes. It takes a lot of trust to give quality minutes to that many players, but Golden does this every single game. He has the most complete team in the country and Sunday the most complete team played a complete game to win not just any conference, but the SEC, the country's deepest and best league by a wide margin.

With an SEC Tournament title in tow, it’s on to the NCAA where there are no mulligans. Win six and the Gators win it all. Lose along the way and the season concludes.

“Our team talent is exceptional, and that's why I think we have a chance to make a deep run,” Golden said.

The first step on a quest to go 6-0 starts Friday at 6:50 p.m. in Raleigh against Norfolk State.