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.

Rueben Chinyelu in the locker room after the Gators won the 2025 national championship (Photo by Chris Spears) At the NBA 3-point contest in 1988, Larry Bird arrived in the locker room, surveyed his opponents and asked, “Which one of you guys is playing for second?” Out on the floor, Bird never even took his Boston Celtics warmup jacket off and won, beating Dale Ellis in the final round. He hoisted his index finger to signal No. 1 before his final shot even dropped through the net.   Thirty-eight years later, if Todd Golden wanted to, he could ask that same question of the pack of teams that trail Florida (20-6, 11-2) by two or three games in the Southeastern Conference standings. With five games remaining in the regular season, the magic number for the Gators is 14. Three Florida wins will get the Gators to 14. For Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee to get to 14, they will have to go 5-0 the rest of the way. Theoretically, that’s possible. Realistically speaking, there is probably a greater chance that you could get a 747 off the ground using nothing more than an owner’s manual than there is for Florida to not win the SEC.     So the question of the day is which one of those guys (Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee) is playing for second?   Winning the SEC is nice and that’s the immediate goal. Florida hasn’t won the SEC since 2014, which was a Final Four year. Beyond the regular season there is the SEC Tournament in Nashville, a 3-day affair, and then the 3-weekend, 6-game grind that is the NCAA Tournament. A maximum 14 games remain in this basketball season.   So once again the magic number is 14.   Golden is so into the analytics of the game that he is well aware of the numbers. Fourteen SEC wins and the Gators are regular season champs. A maximum of 14 games remain in this basketball season. If the Gators were to go 14-0, they will not only win the SEC and the SEC Tournament, but they will repeat as national champs.   It’s a worthy and achievable goal, but Golden knows that for the Gators to hoist the national championship trophy for the second straight year they have to take it one game at a time, starting Saturday at Ole Miss.   After whomping South Carolina Wednesday night, Golden said, “ I don’t care if it’s Alabama. I don’t care if it’s Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, like, we’re treating that game like the national championship.”   It worked a year ago. In case you’ve forgotten, the Gators were No. 1 in the nation only after they beat Houston in the championship game. Prior to that it was a one-game-at-a-time approach that advanced the cause.   That’s the same approach the Gators will need to be the last team standing 14 games from now.   Wednesday’s scores Missouri (18-8, 8-5 SEC) 81, No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-5, 8-5 SEC) 80: Missouri held off a furious Vanderbilt rally for a win that will give its NCAA chances a huge boost. Vandy trailed 66-45 with 8:43 to go but outscored Mizzou 35-14 the rest of the way. Tyler Nickel’s three with 1.8 seconds remaining got Vandy within a point. Tyler Tanner got a steal on the inbounds pass at midcourt but his Hail Mary heave rattled around the rim and popped out as the horn sounded. The difference in the game was at the foul line where Missouri was 25-32. Vanderbilt got to the line only 18 times. T.O. Barrett and Trent Pierce each had 16 for Missouri. Tanner 27 for Vandy.   No. 25 Alabama (19-7, 9-4 SEC) 117, No. 20 Arkansas (19-7, 9-4 SEC) 115, 2 OT: Houston Mallette’s three from the corner with 51 seconds to go in the second overtime was the difference maker as Alabama survived a 49-point outburst by the Razorbacks’ Darius Acuff Jr. Four Arkansas players fouled out, forcing John Calipari to use two players in overtime who had been on the floor a combined 35 minutes all season. Alabama got to the foul line 34 times while Arkansas had only 19 free throws. Labaron Philon Jr. had 35 points and seven assists for Alabama while Aiden Sherrill contributed 26 points and 13 rebounds. Acuff, who sent the game into overtime with a clutch three, had a chance for the game-winning shot at the end of both overtimes. Both Alabama and Arkansas are in the pack with four SEC losses, two games behind Florida with five to go.   Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC) 89, Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 SEC) 66: Tennessee remained in the pack tied for second in the SEC with a relatively easy win over Oklahoma. Oklahoma had no answers for Tennessee freshman Nate Ament, who finished the game with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 16 points and eight assists for the Vols. Nijel Pack, who hit 4-5 on his 3-pointers, scored 20 to lead the Sooners.   Texas A&M (18-8, 8-5 SEC) 80, Ole Miss (11-15, 3-10 SEC) 77: The Aggies came from 13 points down in the second half, holding Ole Miss scoreless the last three minutes of the game to break a 4-game losing streak. Rashaun Agee led the Aggies with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Ole Miss was led by AJ Storr, who scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half. Malik Dia, who scored 20 points, left the game with an ankle injury in the second half and didn’t return to the game. The Rebels have lost eight straight.   Mississippi State (13-13, 5-8 SEC) 91, Auburn (14-12, 5-8 SEC) 85:  Josh Hubbard scored 35 points in the first half, 46 for the game as Mississippi State delivered a crushing blow to Auburn’s NCAA hopes. Hubbard, who nailed 10-16 from the 3-point line, had more points at the half than the entire Auburn team. It was the fifth straight loss for Auburn, which was led by Keyshawn Hall, back from suspension. Hall scored 29 and pulled down 10 rebounds.   Saturday’s games No. 12 FLORIDA (20-6, 11-2 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-15, 3-10 SEC) Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC) at No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-5, 8-5 SEC) Missouri (18-8, 8-5 SEC) at No. 20 Arkansas (19-7, 9-4 SEC) No. 25 Alabama (19-7, 9-4 SEC) at LSU (14-12, 2-11 SEC) Texas (17-9, 8-5 SEC) at Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC) Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 SEC) at Auburn (14-12, 5-8 SEC) Texas A&M (18-8, 8-5 SEC) at Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 SEC) Mississippi State (13-13, 5-8 SEC) at South Carolina (11-15, 2-11 SEC)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. South Carolina (11-15, 2-11 SEC): The only question remaining for South Carolina is will Lamont Paris be given one more year to right the ship or will he walk the plank?   15. Ole Miss (11-15, 3-10 SEC): The Rebels had Texas A&M on the ropes, but figured out a way to blow the game. They’ve lost eight straight games.   14. LSU (14-12, 2-11 SEC): The Tigers have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Matt McMahon’s hopes of one more year hinge on money, as in can LSU afford to fire him in light of paying $54 million to fire football coach Brian Kelly and paying Lane Kiffin $13 million a year to replace him.   13. Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 SEC): Oklahoma’s modest 2-game win streak was ended by Tennessee in a rout. Buzzards are circling over Porter Moser’s office.   12. Mississippi State (13-13, 5-8 SEC): Josh Hubbard has scored 30 or more three straight games. The Bulldogs are at .500 for the season. They’ve got a shot at a winning record.   11. Auburn (14-12, 5-8 SEC): The Tigers are playing themselves out of NCAA contention. Five straight losses will do that to you.   10. Missouri (18-8, 8-5 SEC): Mizzou’s chances of getting off the NCAA bubble and squarely in the tournament field improved significantly with the win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers need to win three of their last five.   9. Texas A&M (18-8, 8-5 SEC): The Aggies are the shortest and least talented team in the SEC. Other than Florida, they are also the toughest team to prepare for.   8. Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC): The Bulldogs got a much needed win over Kentucky at Rupp. They need three wins in the last five to finish 9-9 in the SEC.   7. Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 SEC): The Big Blue Nation is calling for a conclave and three puffs of smoke that will signal a new Pope is on the way.   6. Texas (16-9, 8-5 SEC): The Longhorns have won five in a row and have a legitimate shot at 12 SEC wins.   5. Vanderbilt (21-5, 8-5 SEC): The Commodores are a good team without Duke Miles. With him, they can beat any team in the SEC except Florida.   4. Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC): The Vols have won seven of their last eight and they have a schedule that is conducive to a 4-1 finish.   3. Arkansas (19-7, 9-4 SEC): The Razorbacks need to get healthy but even with a depleted roster Darius Acuff Jr. is good enough to keep them in games.   2. Alabama (19-7, 9-4 SEC): Bama could win the last five games. The Crimson Tide can’t play a lick of defense, but they can score and run people into the ground.   1. FLORIDA (20-6, 11-2 SEC): The Gator Boyz are hot. Again. A 5-0 finish would surprise no one but 4-1 is more realistic.

Alex Condon scores his 100th point as a Gator (Photo by Chris Spears) When he grades the film of 12 th -ranked Florida’s 78-66 win over South Carolina, Todd Golden will have no problem whatsoever filling up a legal pad with items that must be corrected. Pretty, it wasn’t but grind it out wins count just the same as the aesthetically pleasing wins that send the fan base into frothing at the mouth frenzies.   The outcome was never in doubt Tuesday night. Almost from the opening tip, the only question was would the Gators cover the 23.5-point spread. They didn’t but the final margin was irrelevant. This is that point of the season when you take a win any way you can get it, especially those that help maintain first place in the Southeastern Conference.   “Hell yes, man, that’s how I feel,” Golden said after the Gators improved to 20-6 overall, 11-2 in SEC play. “Every win’s a great win. It’s the SEC. No nights off and every time we’re playing a team after the new year that is any worse than, like, the 75th, 80th-best team in America. So, anytime you’re going to win, or you can win, that’s a huge step in the right direction. And I tell these guys all the time, like, when we’re preparing for games, I don’t care if it’s Alabama. I don’t care if it’s Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina … like, we’re treating that game like the national championship. We want to win regardless of who our opponent is. And these guys allow us to push them that way, and it’s why we’ve been successful the way we have.”   There were segments of this game in which the Gators looked the part of a team capable of a deep run at tournament time in March. In the first 4-1/2 minutes, the Gators torched South Carolina for a 10-3 start, so basically it was all over then. South Carolina never recovered from that opening strafing. Isaiah Brown came off the bench to score five in a row over 33 seconds that made it 18-10. Rueben Chinyelu had his 16 th double-double of the season by halftime (11 points, 13 rebounds). From 39-29, the Gators expanded the lead to 17 (58-41) on a three by Tommy Haugh with 11:42 to go. There was a 10-2 surge over a 2-1/2 minute stretch that belonged to Haugh (3-pointer, assist Alex Condon), Condon (layup and free throw, fast break dunk on an Xaivier Lee pass) and a mini-hook by Chinyelu (another Lee assist). That made it a 22-point game (73-51).   Rueben Chinyelu clears out space for a rebound (Photo by Chris Spears) When the Gators got it going like that, South Carolina was helpless to stop them. But there were also surges by the Gamecocks that weren’t so much defensive lapses by the Gators as much as it seemed boredom set in. The Gators got sloppy with the ball, turning it over 14 times altogether, nine in the second half. They missed 10 layups and bunnies. If not for Haugh nailing 3-5 from the 3-point line, Florida would have shot 2-14.   Amid all that inconsistency, the defense showed up, turning this into another day at the office at that end of the floor. The Gators were intimidating the way they closed out on shooters. South Carolina managed only 62 points on 37.9 percent shooting overall (22-58) and 21.1 percent (4-19) from the 3-point line. The Gators outrebounded the Gamecocks 47-30 and held them to two fast break points. The Gamecocks ran a deliberately slow-paced offense. About the only thing that succeeded in doing was to keep the game from going at the breakneck pace Florida prefers. It certainly didn’t result in easy shots in the paint or open looks from the 3-point line.   As has been the case throughout Florida’s relentless march to first place in the SEC, the defense had a smothering effect that has become the team’s calling card. In 13 SEC games, the Gators have held opponents to 97-312 (31 percent) from the 3-point line and just 71.76 points per game. The Gators have outrebounded 13 SEC opponents by 160, an average of 12.3 rebounds per game.   “I think our guys have done a really good job of understanding that we have incredible defensive talent, physicality, and when we pour into that, it makes the rest of the game easier, and I thought we did really good job of that tonight,” Golden said. “We held them under 40 (percent) from the field, 21 (percent) from three. Fouled a little bit late in the second half that we’ll live with that the way the game was going, and we’ve turned ourselves into a pretty good defensive team, and we got to continue that if we want to reach the goals that we’re striving for.”   Even on a night when the Gators should have won by a much larger margin, it was still a 14-point win. Nine of Florida’s 11 SEC wins have been by 14 or more points. So even though this wasn’t a peak performance, the Gators were easily the dominant team.   Maybe it wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was a very good win that created more separation from the pack that’s chasing the Gators for the SEC regular season title.   “I feel like there’s an expectation right now with our program that if we’re not up by 15 at halftime, if we don’t win by 25, that something isn’t going right, but we’re in the best league in America,” Golden said. “I still feel like being up 10 at halftime, up 22 with three minutes to go, we played pretty dang well. We didn’t play our best, but even when we’re not at our best, I think we’re really good.”   Game notes: Condon (20 points, 10 rebounds) reached 1,000 points for his Florida career … Chinyelu (15 points, 17 rebounds in just 24 minutes) earned his 16 th -double-double of the season, which leads the SEC and ranks top five nationally … Haugh (10 points) has hit a three in 21 consecutive games … Micah Handlogten (5 points, 9 rebounds) was within one of being Florida’s third player with 10 or more rebounds.   ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC) 86, Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 SEC) 78: Georgia never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 12 before beating Kentucky at Rupp for just the fifth time in school history. Blue Cain with 20 and Jeremiah Wilkinson with 19 led Georgia, which made 14 threes. Otega Oweh scored 28 to lead Kentucky.   Texas (17-9, 8-5 SEC) 88, LSU (14-12, 2-11 SEC) 85: Texas blew most of a 17-point lead before squeaking by LSU. Dailyn Swain had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas, which got another double-double from Matas Voiketaitis, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Texas has now won five straight games. Max Mackinnon came off the bench to lead LSU with 27 points, 21 of which came in the second half. LSU has lost seven of its last eight games.   Wednesday’s 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)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. South Carolina (11-15, 2-11 SEC): Lamont Paris is such a nice guy. Unfortunately, he may not be gainfully employed after another three or so weeks.   15. Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC): This shapes up to be a bad week for the Rebels who are at A&M tonight and home Saturday against Florida. Chris Beard is on the verge of his first losing season as a head coach.   14. LSU (14-12, 2-10 SEC): The Tigers have lost seven of their last eight and the natives are growing increasingly restless. If they can find a way to win two of their last five they will be assured of a non-losing season. That is at least something for Matt McMahon to hang his hat on.   13. Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC): The Bulldogs can salvage a non-losing season if they can find a way to win four of the last six, starting tonight with Auburn at The Hump.   12. Oklahoma (13-12, 3-9 SEC): The Sooners, who have won their last two, might salvage Porter Moser’s job if they can somehow cobble four wins together. It’s highly unlikely but not impossible.   11. Missouri (17-8, 7-5 SEC): The Tigers are 3-4 in Quad 1 games. They need three or four more to get off the NCAA bubble.   10. Auburn (14-11, 5-7 SEC): Keyshawn Hall has served his time in Steven Pearl’s jailhouse. He returns tonight at Mississippi State and needs a big game to get back in the graces of the coach and teammates.   9. Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC): Did the win over Kentucky right the Georgia ship? Having lost five of their previous six games, the Bulldogs desperately needed that win and need to follow it up Saturday by taking down Texas in Athens.   8. Texas A&M (17-8, 8-4 SEC): The Aggies have been trending toward the NCAA bubble. Three wins in the last six would keep them somewhere in the 8-10 range for NCAA Tournament purposes. They should get a win tonight at home against Ole Miss.   7. Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 SEC): It’s time to face up to the fact that Kentucky is just not that good. Sure, injuries have played a part, but UK spent $22 million to build a roster and for that much cash outlay they should be able to win in spite of.   6. Texas (17-9, 8-5 SEC): The Longhorns have won five in a row to move off the bubble, but they can’t afford letdowns starting Saturday in Athens.   5. Tennessee (18-7, 8-4 SEC): The Vols have won six of the last seven. They can play their way into a second or third seed at the SEC Tournament which would also give them a shot at a No. 4 or No. 5 NCAA seed.   4. Alabama (18-7, 8-4 SEC): It’s still the same old same old for Bama. When they’re making shots they can play with the best. When they aren’t, they’re capable of going down in flames to even an average team.   3. Vanderbilt (21-4, 8-4 SEC): Vandy is so much better with a healthy Duke Miles. It would be a big boost to the Commodores hopes to get the SEC Tournament double-bye if he were to return tonight at Mizzou.   2. Arkansas (19-6, 9-3 SEC): The Razorbacks have to beat Alabama tonight to stay within a game of Florida.   1. FLORIDA (20-6, 11-2 SEC): The Gators are closing in on their first SEC championship since 2014 and are on everybody’s No. 3 line in NCAA bracketology.

Todd Golden has the Gators in the SEC driver's seat (Photo by Chris Spears) With six games remaining in the regular season, Florida is in the driver’s seat for its first Southeastern Conference championship since 2014. The SEC awards its conference championship to the team that wins the regular season. For NCAA Tournament purposes, the winner of the SEC Tournament gets the automatic berth. The Gators have a 1-game lead over Arkansas and a 2-game lead over Vanderbilt, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, all of whom have four SEC losses. Arkansas could basically eliminate Alabama tonight but if Bama wins, Arkansas will join the pack two games behind the Gators. 1. FLORIDA 19-6, 10-2 SEC: South Carolina; at Ole Miss; at Texas; Arkansas; Mississippi State; at Kentucky Gators should be 12-2 after this weekend. Win two of the last four and it secures at least a piece of the title.   2. Arkansas 19-6, 9-3 SEC: at Alabama; Missouri; Texas A&M; at FLORIDA; Texas; at Missouri The Hogs have the challenge of playing at Alabama, at Florida and at Missouri. To match Florida they’ll have to go 5-1 the rest of the way, which is unlikely.   3. Vanderbilt 21-4, 8-4 SEC: at Missouri; Tennessee; Georgia; at Kentucky; at Ole Miss; at Tennessee Four roadies in the last six. A 10-8 or 11-7 is about as good as it will get for the Commodores.   3. Alabama 18-7, 8-4 SEC: Arkansas; at LSU; Mississippi State; at Tennessee; at Georgia; Auburn Alabama has to go 6-0 the rest of the way for a piece of the title, but that’s only if Florida loses two more games.   3. Tennessee 18-7, 8-4 SEC: Oklahoma; at Vanderbilt; at Missouri; Alabama; at South Carolina; Vanderbilt Circle the game with Alabama. Either the Vols or Tide will be eliminated.   3. Kentucky 17-8, 8-4 SEC: Georgia; at Auburn; at South Carolina; Vanderbilt; at Texas A&M; FLORIDA The Wildcats have to go 6-0 and hope the Gators have one other loss when they arrive for Senior Day at Rupp.   7. Missouri 17-8, 7-5 SEC: Vanderbilt; at Arkansas; Tennessee; at Mississippi State; at Oklahoma; Arkansas The Tigers are shooting for the double bye. That’s a longshot. They need four SEC wins to make sure they make the NCAA.   7. Texas A&M 17-8, 7-5 SEC: Ole Miss; at Oklahoma; at Arkansas; Texas; Kentucky; at LSU The Aggies are a longshot for the double bye but they’ll make the NCAA with two more wins.   7. Texas 16-9, 7-5 SEC: LSU; at Georgia; FLORIDA; at Texas A&M; at Arkansas; Oklahoma The Longhorns are playing very well right now. Getting to 11 or 12 SEC wins is a possibility, which will get them solidly into the NCAA.   10. Georgia 17-8, 5-7 SEC: at Kentucky; Texas; at Vanderbilt; South Carolina; Alabama; at Mississippi State The Poodles need three wins, otherwise they’re a favorite to host a first round game in the NIT.   10. Auburn 14-11, 5-7 SEC: at Mississippi State; Kentucky; at Oklahoma; Ole Miss; LSU; at Alabama There are four wins on that schedule. Given the toughness of Auburn’s non-conference schedule, 9-9 in the SEC makes them an NCAA lock.   12. Mississippi State 12-13, 4-8 SEC: Auburn, at South Carolina; at Alabama; Missouri; at FLORIDA; Georgia The Bulldogs need four wins to ensure they won’t have a losing record. Chris Jans is being mentioned as a potential successor at Kansas State.   13. Oklahoma 12-13, 3-9 SEC: at Tennessee; Texas A&M; Auburn; at LSU; Missouri; at Texas The only way the Sooners get into the NCAA is to win the SEC Tournament. Right now their goal is to save Porter Moser’s job.   13. Ole Miss 11-14, 3-9 SEC: at Texas A&M; FLORIDA; LSU; at Auburn; Vanderbilt; South Carolina A lot of folks think Chris Beard is looking for a new place to coach. He’s making $5 million. Good luck finding a job that will pay that much.   15. LSU 14-11, 2-10 SEC: at Texas; Alabama; at Ole Miss; Oklahoma; at Auburn; Texas A&M Matt McMahon’s seat is scorching hot. If he can find three wins in the last six games he can make the NIT and that may save his job.   16. South Carolina 11-14, 2-10 SEC: at FLORIDA; Mississippi State; Kentucky; at Georgia; Tennessee; at Ole Miss The clock is ticking on the Lamont Paris era at South Carolina. The faithful see the women’s program winning championships and ask why is it the men will suffer through their third losing season in the last four.

Tommy Haugh powers up for two of his 17 points (Photo courtesy of UAA Communications) There were stretches Saturday afternoon at the O-Dome in which we were treated by a team that has elbowed its way into serious Final Four contention. When the Gators are focused, motivated and playing hungry the way they did during the 10-2 run that began the game with Kentucky or the 11-2 second half explosion that caused the 11,230 sardined into the arena to nearly blow the roof off the joint, it isn’t difficult to foresee Florida making a second straight Final Four.   When the Gators are in their pillage and plunder mode, even very good basketball teams like the 25 th -ranked Kentucky Wildcats (17-8, 8-4 SEC) look like a carcass on the side of the road with buzzards circling. The 14 th -ranked Gators (19-6, 10-2 SEC) had some moments in which they were as flat as a bottle of Coca-Cola that has been open and sitting at room temp for a few hours, but whenever necessary they went from ordinary to beastly.   During those high-powered stretches that turned Kentucky into 92-83 road kill, the Gators played great defense which turned 14 UK turnovers into 25 points. They found Xaivian Lee and Urban Klavzar open on the perimeter where they drilled in 3-pointers (4-7 for Lee, 5-11 for Klavzar). During one extended second half sequence the Gators grabbed 17 of 23 rebounds that either ignited fast breaks, resulted in stickbacks or gave another chance to nail a three.     The good stretches showed how untouchable the Gators can be when they get their collective acts together. The bad stretches provided a pad full of coaching points for Todd Golden, who admitted, “ we're getting there. We're not all the way. I thought we took a step back in some of the areas that we had been growing in, but we're also getting a lot better in some areas that I didn't expect us to maybe jump in. So we gotta stay the course."   No, the Gators are not all the way there. Not yet at least. But this is an almost avalanche effect as we see the Gators picking up momentum and laying waste to everything in their path. There are six SEC games remaining on the schedule and then three potentially in the SEC Tournament in Nashville.   How the Gators do in those nine games will determine how they are seeded and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament. The last five wins have been impressive enough that the Gators have shed the potential label, replacing it with serious national contender.   Getting past Kentucky was a rather large step in the right direction even if it wasn’t one of Florida’s best games. Of course, any win over Kentucky, is a great win even if hindsight tells you that had the Gators played to their capability, this would have gone down as a 25 or 30-point blowout. The Gators left points on the floor at the foul line (22-32). They missed way too many shots within five feet of the basket. They turned the ball over 11 times. They lost contain on UK deluxe shooter Collin Chandler (5-7 on threes). They were outrebounded in the first half.   So winning by nine was solid, but it could have been and should have been more decisive. Even so it served notice to the rest of the country that even when the Florida Gators aren’t totally in synch they are still good enough to flatten anyone that gets in their path.   It was Xaivian Lee, who for the second straight game, was the tone-setter. In getting the Gators off to a 10-2 lead in the first 3:25 of the game, Lee drained a pair of threes. After the under-16 media time out, Lee and Tommy Haugh combined to score the next 10 Florida points for a 20-8 advantage. The lead swelled to 15 – 32-17 on a steal and dunk by Boogie Fland with 9:23 remaining – but that’s when the Gators went into a bit of a funk that allowed Kentucky to go on a 10-0 run that altered thoughts of a runaway.   Kentucky got within five at 34-29, but the Gators stepped on the gas and pulled away for a 41-32 lead at the intermission. Kentucky got off to a strong second half start to narrow the margin to 43-41, but Haugh got a layup and free throw and Lee fired in a three from the left wing to create some space at 49-41.   It was a 5-point game (56-51) when Klavzar went into a shooter’s coma. Over the next 10 minutes, Klavzar nailed four threes and added a layup when he powered his way through two Kentucky bigs. When he hit his fourth three of the second half, it gave the Gators an 81-70 lead with 3:07 left in the game. Klavzar finished the game with 19 points.   Florida’s big guys did their part. Outrebounded for much of the first half, the Gators were dominant in the second. Over one stretch, the Gators outrebounded Kentucky 17-6, turning UK possessions into one-and-dones and extending UF possessions. In the second half, the Gators scored on 61.1 percent of their possessions and for the entire game, Florida scored on 58.3 percent of the possessions. For a second straight game, the Gators nailed 10 threes (10-26).   “Our tenaciousness, our physicality showed up in last 10 minutes of the game,” Golden said. “I thought we dominated that way. We kind of refused to not get the ball. That has to be our calling card as we move forward.”   While this wasn’t anything close to perfection it was a shot across the bow of the SEC and nation that the Gators have so many ways to win games.   “I think when we hit 10 threes – I think it was in back-to-back games – I don't think anyone in the country can play with us,” Alex Condon said after 14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. “We’re a dangerous team. Inside, especially rebounding is a big emphasis. That's our DNA. Every game we try to win the rebound count by at least 12, and it sucks the guys inside, and then you throw it out, and these guys hit threes. It's really unbeatable basketball I think.”   Beating Kentucky kept Florida in first place, a full game ahead of Arkansas, and provided a 2-game cushion over Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Alabama, who all have four losses in league play. So, even though it wasn’t the complete game that Golden would have liked, particularly on the national stage (game was broadcast on ABC), it was a purposeful win in which the Gators made it abundantly clear that even when they aren’t 100 percent locked in for a full 40 minutes, they’re still better than everyone else.   Game notes: Five Gators scored in double figures – Lee 22, Klavzar 19, Haugh 17, Condon 14 and Chinyelu 10. Chinyelu also had 11 rebounds for his SEC-leading 15 th double-double of the season … Haugh hit a three for the 20 th consecutive game … Former Gator Denzel Aberdeen led Kentucky with 19 points, but it took him 21 shots to get there. Aberdeen and Otega Oweh shot a combined 12-35 from the field.   ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-4, 8-4 SEC) 82, Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC) 69: Tyler Tanner scored only four points, but Tyler Nickel picked up the slack by hitting five 3-pointers as part of a 25-point night. AK Okereke added 23 for the Commodores. In losing their fourth straight game, the Aggies were led by Marcus Hill with 20.   No. 21 Arkansas (19-6, 9-3 SEC) 88, Auburn (14-11, 5-7 SEC) 75: This was an easier than expected win for the Razorbacks, who got 31 points and seven assists from Darius Acuff Jr., who hit 7-10 of his threes. Billy Richmond scored 25 for the Razorbacks. The story for Auburn was leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, suspended indefinitely by head coach Steven Pearl. Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with 29 points and seven assists.   Alabama (18-7, 8-4 SEC) 89, South Carolina (11-14, 2-10 SEC) 75: Aden Holloway had 20 while Labaron Philon Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell 19 each to lead Alabama to an easy win. Meechie Johnson scored 26 for South Carolina.   Tennessee (18-7, 8-4 SEC) 73, LSU (14-11, 2-10 SEC) 63: The Vols dominated the rebounding 45-24 to take out LSU. Nate Ament led Tennessee with 22 points while Jalen Reece and Marquel Sutton each scored 15 for short-handed LSU, playing without injured Max Mackinnon.   Texas (16-9, 7-5 SEC) 85, Missouri (17-8, 7-5 SEC) 68: The Longhorns blew a tight game open in the second half in a matchup that has serious NCAA Tournament implications. Dailyn Swain led Texas led Texas with 25 points while Matas Voiketaitis had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mark Mitchell and Jayden Stone each scored 16 for Missouri.   Oklahoma (13-12, 3-9 SEC) 94, Georgia (17-8, 5-7 SEC) 78: Oklahoma, which trailed by two at the half, outscored Georgia 53-35 in the second half. The Sooners got 19 from Tae Davis and 18 each from Nijel Pack and Kuol Atak. Georgia, which has lost five of its last six, got 20 from Blue Cain.   Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC) 90, Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC) 78: Led by Josh Hubbard, who lit up the Rebels for 32 points, Mississippi State ran out to a 19-point first half lead. Malik Dia scored 32 to lead Ole Miss, which has lost seven in a row.   Tuesday’s 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 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 (17-8, 7-5 SEC) at Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC) Auburn (14-11, 5-7 SEC) at Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. South Carolina (11-14, 2-10 SEC): The Gamecocks have lost six in a row. They haven’t hit rock bottom yet, however. That happens Tuesday night in Gainesville.   15. Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC): The Rebels have lost seven in a row and next week they have to go to Aggieland and host the Gators.   14. Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC): The schedule eases a bit, enough that the Bulldogs could potentially get to 8-8 in the SEC. The four games other than at Florida and at Alabama are winnable.   13. LSU (14-11, 2-10 SEC): The only win in the last seven games is South Carolina. Matt McMahon’s situation grows more grim by the game.    12. Oklahoma (13-12, 3-9 SEC): Six games to go and four are winnable. At 7-9 in the SEC Porter Moser might save his job.   11. Missouri (17-8, 7-5 SEC): Mizzou went right back to the bubble by losing at Texas. The Tigers are dangerous opponents, but they’re as capable of losing as they are of winning at this point.   10. Georgia (17-8, 5-7 SEC): The Bulldogs are backsliding their way to the NIT. They’ve lost five of six and the next three games are at Kentucky, Texas and at Vanderbilt.   9. Auburn (14-11, 5-7 SEC): If the Keyshawn Hall suspension lasts more than a week, Auburn can start thinking NIT.   8. Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC): Bucky Ball has hit the skids. The Aggies have lost four straight. This kind of thing happens when you have the shortest and least talented team in the SEC.   7. Texas (16-9, 7-5 SEC): The Longhorns have won four in a row with two very winnable games upcoming that will ensure at least break even in the SEC. This is a dangerous team.   6. Tennessee (18-7, 8-4 SEC): The Vols have Oklahoma and a roadie to Nashville for Vandy this week. They could get to 22-23 wins in the regular season which would probably get a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.   5. Alabama (18-7, 8-4 SEC): The Tide went 2-0 without Charles Bediako last week. Can they bushwhack Arkansas Tuesday without a 7-footer who can block shots?   4. Kentucky (17-8, 8-4 SEC): The Wildcats should win the next three easily. A 5-1 finish in SEC play could get UK within sniffing distance of the No. 4 line.   3. Vanderbilt (21-4, 8-4 SEC): Mark Byington says Duke Miles could be back in a week or two. Vandy needs him desperately to take the heat off Tyler Tanner.   2. Arkansas (19-6, 9-3 SEC): Wednesday in Tuscaloosa is a chance for Arkansas to get a statement win.   1. FLORIDA (19-6, 10-2 SEC): The Gators beat Kentucky without playing anywhere close to their best.

Gators drop second meet in a row 198.075-197.575 to the #1 Oklahoma Sooners.

Xaivian Lee puts the clamps on Georgia's Blue Cain (Photo by Chris Spears) In assessing what went wrong Wednesday night in Athens, Georgia coach Mike White was asked about Florida’s defense, which held the Bulldogs to a season-low 66 points, a full 25 fewer than their second in the nation per game average.     “There wasn’t a hole,” White said. “There wasn’t a weak link.”   No holes. No weak links. Just a team that has grown comfortable in its own skin, a team that has come to grips with the fact that this isn’t a déjà vu season. In winning the NCAA championship a year ago, it seemed the Gators could literally shoot their way out of any trouble. Now, a year later, the new identity – the one that Todd Golden has been insisting – is defense, rebounding and toughness.   The Gators lead the nation in rebounding, offensive rebounding and rebounding margin. Defensively, they are No. 3 nationally in the barttorvik.com analytics, No. 5 in kenpom.com .   In reality, how good are the Gators? Well, against Georgia, the Bulldogs had the basketball 77 possessions and scored on just 29. That breaks down to .857 points per possession and a scoring percentage of 37.7. Florida, on the other hand, had 73 possessions, scored on 38 of them and averaged 1.178 points every time the Gators had the basketball.   The Gators scored on a whopping 52.1 percent of their possessions.   On their march to a national championship a year ago, it seemed the Gators’ solution to any kind of trouble was to shoot their way into prosperity. In their last three games – Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, Auburn in the NCAA semifinals, and Houston in the national championship game – the Gators trailed by 10 or more points in the second half. It’s true that Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard all made big shot after big shot to bring the Gators back in those games.   It’s also true that they played defense at an elite level. The object of the game is to score more points, but you have to get stops defensively to get the ball and give yourself a chance. On Houston’s last four possessions of the national championship game, Florida’s defense was so tight that the Cougars never even got a shot off.   Florida won that game, 65-63.   The straws that stirred the Florida drink last year – Clayton, Martin and Richard – all ply their trade in the NBA now. When they departed for the pros and Denzel Aberdeen packed his bags for Lexington and the Kentucky Wildcats, it meant roster reconstruction once again for Todd Golden. He’s used to it.   Following his first season at UF, Golden knew he needed more size so he went to the portal to bring in Tyrese Samuel from Seton Hall and 7-1 Micah Handlogten from Marshall. The arrival of unheralded freshmen big men Alex Condon and Tommy Haugh hardly caused a ripple nationally. The backcourt was reconstructed with Zyon Pullin from Cal-Riverside and Walter Clayton Jr. from Iona.   From 16-17 year one to 24-12 in year two the Gators were one of the most improved teams in the country. If Handlogten hadn’t suffered a fractured leg in the SEC Tournament championship game against Auburn, I feel confident the Gators would have won the tournament and gone on to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.   The second year Gators could score on anyone but terrible defensively, so Golden once again went to the portal, adding Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and Alijah Martin from Florida Atlantic. Chinyelu and Martin gave the Gators an instant defensive identity and toughness that had been missing. Amazingly, the 2025 Gators scored essentially at the same clip – 85.6 per game in 2024; 84.8 in 2025 – but the result of the defensive emphasis was a nearly -10 point reduction in opponents’ scoring from 79.2 per game to 69.6.   So, that brings us to 2026 and another example of roster reconstruction. The backcourt is run by transfers Boogie Fland (Arkansas) and Xaivian Lee (Princeton). They’re backed up off the bench by last year’s newbies, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown. The front court foursome of Haugh, Condon, Chinyelu and Handlogten remained intact.   This is where we have seen the genius of Golden. He scheduled tough with games like Arizona, TCU, Duke and UConn all on the road, and gave the Gators a chance to forge a brand new identity. This isn’t a great shooting team – 29.2 percent on threes following a 10-26 performance at Georgia – but scoring hasn’t dropped off at all. The Gators are scoring 86.2 per game, giving up 71.   In the last four games, opponents have shot 34-117 from the 3-point line while averaging just 64.5 points per game.   “As we’ve learned the last couple of weeks from our group, when we guard and rebound, we’re pretty tough to beat,” Golden said . “Our team is getting to a point where enjoying and kind of owning the identity of being a defensive, gritty, physical, rebounding team.”   Almost unnoticed is how the Gators have become one of the nation’s more efficient offensive teams and that’s all because of defense and rebounding. The Gators have a size advantage on nearly every team in the country, but these aren’t big, immobile guys. They can move their feet, play defense even out on the perimeter and they know how to trigger the break. No team in America gets the ball from defense to offense faster than the Gators.   One of the chief reasons Florida is scoring more points than last year’s team despite just 29.2 percent 3-point shooting is the speed in which the Gators transition from defense to offense. The 100-77 win over Alabama was a clinic in layups and dunks before Alabama could get its defense set.   It took awhile for Fland and Lee to work out the kinks that come naturally after transferring in to a new situation. Fland is the lead guard, Lee the off guard, but when Fland rests, Lee is perfectly capable of running the point. They don’t turn the ball over – Lee, for example, has gone 86 minutes on the court since his last turnover – and they get the ball to teammates. When they score – Lee had 18 against Georgia, Fland 15 – it makes the Gators even more dangerous.   Best of all, they play great defense.   It has taken awhile for Fland and Lee to grow comfortable in their roles with a new team, new philosophy and through the roof expectations. They have endured the barbs that came when the Gators lost early games, all of them winnable that came down to a silly mistake here or a missed shot there. As they have grown, the Gators have grown with them to the point that more than one national analyst has Florida on the short list of teams that can make the Final Four and cut down the nets.   That tough non-conference schedule turns out a genius move on the part of Golden. Sure, the Gators lost games, but they learned how to play together and best of all created an identity that is uniquely theirs. This isn’t last year’s team, for sure, but it’s a team capable of winning a national championship.   The Gators are playing at a scary good level right now and they still haven’t peaked. Fland noted after the blowout of Alabama that the Gators still have plenty in the tank. They can win with defense, rebounding and toughness.   And if they start making threes with any sort of consistency?   “Collectively as a staff and as a program, we think of our 3-point shooting as the cherry on top,” Golden said. “ We don’t want that to be what makes us good or what we rely upon to be a good team. We want it to be a thing where if we are shooting ball well, we’re really hard to beat. ”   The Gators are already hard to beat. If Fland and Lee ever start shooting the ball well in addition to what they bring to the table defensively and setting up opponents with their passing and ball handling, hard to beat might be classified as impossible to beat.   SATURDAY IN THE SEC No. 25 Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) at No. 14 FLORIDA (18-6, 9-2 SEC) Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC) at No. 19 Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4 SEC) Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC) at No. 21 Arkansas (18-6, 8-3 SEC) South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC) at Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC) LSU (14-10, 2-9 SEC) at Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC) Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at Missouri (17-7, 7-4 SEC) Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC) at Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC) Mississippi State (11-13, 3-8 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-13, 3-8 SEC)   FEELING THE BURN … These coaches are sitting on seats so warm they threaten to burst into flames any day now. Jerome Tang, Kansas State: He was a big splash his first year in 2022-23, but K-State hasn’t made the tournament since then and won’t this year. The Wildcats are 10-14, dead last in the Big 12.   Lamont Paris, South Carolina: He’s headed for his third losing season in the four he’s been head coach at South Carolina. In the four years he’s been coaching the South Carolina men, women’s coach Dawn Staley has won two NCAA titles, finished second once and made the Final Four the other year. In Columbia they’re asking why can’t they get a men’s coach who can do that?   Wes Miller, Cincinnati: The Bearcats are 12-12 and they’re not going to make the NCAA Tournament. Again. Miller hasn’t made the tournament once and this is year five.   Matt McMahon, LSU: It’s not working out at LSU, but McMahon might not get fired because the school spent so much money paying off Brian Kelly and hiring Lane Kiffin.   Porter Moser, Oklahoma: Nice guy. Maybe no one nicer but he’s 86-71 at Oklahoma. Much more is expected. This is year five and the Sooners have only made the NCAA Tournament once.   Bobby Hurley, Arizona State: The Sun Devils are 13-12. The last time they made the NCAA was 2023. Older brother Danny has won two national championships at UConn since then. Meanwhile down in Tucson, Tommy Lloyd has Arizona among the favorites to win the national championship. Bad optics for Bobby.   Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh: They extended his contract through the 2029-30 season and the people who write the checks are wondering why? Pitt is the ACC bottom feeder. Capel has made the NCAA Tournament only one time in eight years.   Shaka Smart, Marquette: Marquette is 9-16 and the faithful aren’t happy. Chances are Shaka gets another year although they would be extremely pleased if he sought gainful employment elsewhere.   Steve Pikell, Rutgers: The Scarlett Knights are 9-15 and won’t make the NCAA Tournament. Again. Pikell hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2021. He had two lottery picks on his team last year and still finished with a losing record.   Adrian Autry, Syracuse: He is 48-42 in three years at Syracuse, 14-11 this year. The Orange haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since he’s been the coach. The natives are very restless.     GREENER PASTURES ON ANOTHER HILL … Chris Beard, Ole Miss: He is a very good basketball coach but something isn’t working at Ole Miss. There are rumors that his agent is putting put feelers. Who else is going to pay him $5 million? If someone comes close, they probably get one heck of a basketball coach.   Mick Cronin, UCLA: His last good team was 2022-23 when the Bruins went 31-6, but they’ve never advanced beyond the Sweet 16 in six previous seasons. They won’t fire him, but they would be happy if he whisked off to somewhere else. There’s a really good chance of that.   Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State: He won big at Fairmont State and Youngstown State, now he’s 46-11 at Utah State. Someone is going to snap him up.   Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern: Yes, he coaches Division II, but his teams score 100 a game routinely. He’s won two national championships at Nova where his career record is 223-26. Prior to Nova he was the coach at West Liberty in West Virginia where his career mark was 359-61.

Georgia Tech, Marshall coming to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium