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

Xaivian Lee (1) works off a pick set by Micah Handlogten (Photo courtesy of UAA Communications) Here is a scary thought for you. As good as the 14 th -ranked Florida Gators have been, what happens when they suddenly start making shots?   Georgia found out the hard way Wednesday night in Athens. Determined to at least neutralize the Gators in the paint, they left the perimeter wide open. Bad decision. Very bad decision.   For only the third time all season, the Gators found the range for 10 3-pointers and it wasn’t the usual suspects who did the most damage. Oh, Tommy Haugh made a three for the 19 th straight game, but this wasn’t one of his better shooting nights (1-6 from deep). Urban Klavzar, who’s been nailing threes left and right lately, had a good night – 2-4 from three – but Georgia did a good job limiting the number of good looks he got.   So Xaivian Lee stepped up and dropped in three threes. He was 3-9 for the game. Considering he came into the game hitting an icy 25 percent, 3-9 was huge. Altogether, he was 7-14 from the field. He backed up his 18-point night with three rebounds, seven assists and three steals. No turnovers. As in ZERO.   Isaiah Brown, a 31 percent shooter from long distance, drilled three in four attempts. He had 12 points off the bench.   Get this. Boogie Fland, who had thrown up 17 consecutive SCUDs, tossed one in for good measure.   So maybe giving the Gators the three seemed like a good idea at the moment for Mike White and Georgia, but when the clock flatlined at 00:00, Florida (18-6, 9-2 SEC) walked out of ancient Stegman Coliseum with an 86-66 win that keeps the Gators in sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference.   “ We collectively, as a staff and as a program, think of our three-point shooting as a cherry on top,” Florida coach Todd 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 the ball well, that we're just really, really hard to beat. I thought that showed up in the first half when we went 6-for-14 from three. Obviously, had a 16-point lead going in halftime, shot 33 percent the second half, which is elite for us and something that we can build on moving forward.”   This wasn’t the same M.O. the Gators used to bushwhack their last four opponents. Those games were all about brute force in the paint. Now, that’s not to say the Gators didn’t do well on the inside – they outscored the Bulldogs in the paint 38-34, outrebounded them 42-35 – it’s just that Georgia gave them open threes and they knocked down shots which turned this into one more blowout. The Gators have outscored their last four opponents, 367-258. Florida’s nine SEC wins are by a combined 191 points.   This breaks down Georgia’s strategy. Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten, who typically combine for 47.8 points per game, combined to score 32. Holding those guys nearly 16 below their average and you have to think you’ve got a good chance to win. Georgia may have kept the Gators from scoring big on the inside, but Florida’s big guys grabbed 33 rebounds with Chinyelu going beast mode on the glass again with 20.   Limited inside scoring, no problem whatsoever. It was 10-0 before the antidote to the Georgia strategy came through with the first three, a bomb from Urban Klavzar. Lee got the next one and Brown followed that one with one of his own. That made it 19-7 with 12:31 to go.   Lee and Brown went back-to-back from three to put the Gators ahead 29-12 with 7:20 remaining in the first half. By the time the teams broke for the locker at halftime, it was 43-27.   Georgia scored the last four points of the first half and seven straight out the gate to start the second half. Down only 43-34, the Georgia faithful and the ESPN announcing crew started talking upset in the making. Wrong.   Then came the 3-ball. Again. Haugh and Klavzar delivered, stretching the lead back out to a more comfortable 15, 49-34, with 15:57 left in the game.   Golden wasn’t exactly a happy camper at that point so wholesale changes were made in the lineup.   “ I think it speaks to the depth of our team, and I thought our bench was fantastic again tonight,” Golden said. “You look at Isaiah, Urby and Micah. We come out the second half, and I didn't think we had the energy that we necessarily needed to finish the game the right way. Credit to Georgia, they came out ready to compete in the second half. They went on a 6-0 run, which ended up being an 11-0 run when you go back in the 1st half, got down to nine. And we went to the bench. We subbed those three guys in, and next thing you know, we go in quick 6-0 run to go in the under-16 media at 15 as opposed to nine, and that's a big difference. They go in at the under-16 down nine, they're talking to each other about, ‘We're back in this thing. Let's go.’ Instead, it's 15, and it's like, ‘Man, we've been playing really well, but we haven't cut into it very much.’ And it speaks to our bench and our depth on our team.”   The Gators got a little sloppy with the ball later in the half, but when the Bulldogs narrowed the gap to 72-62 with 4:09 remaining, the Gators simply took the game over. A 3-pointer by Lee was the dagger with 3:56 left to make it a 75-62 game.   “He was great,” Golden said.  “He was one of the best players on the floor, clearly, tonight. I thought he did a great job just playing with poise, especially when Georgia tried to speed us up, taking care of the basketball, hit some really big threes – one early, two late – that kind of stymied a couple of their runs. I thought he played with really, really good poise all night. (He) ended up with 7 assists in this game with no turnovers. Says a lot about his effort.”   Defensively, it was just another day at the office for the Gators. Georgia came into the game averaging 91.9 points, second best in all of college basketball. The 66 Georgia scored was its lowest total all season and just the second time all year the Bulldogs have scored fewer than 70 in a game.   Georgia managed only 25-72 (34.7 percent) from the field overall and 8-29 (27.6  percent). Georgia turned the ball over 12 times which the Gators converted into 18 points.   “We're guarding, you know? We're guarding,” Golden said. “I think, especially to start games. I think they were 5-for-23 to start the game tonight, and we were up double digits pretty early. As I said after the last game, I think our team is getting to the point where we're enjoying kind of owning the identity of being a defensive, gritty, physical rebounding team that gets out in transition, takes advantage of opportunities that arise from our defense. And if we play like that, we're going to be in every ballgame and give ourselves a really good chance to win.”   Game notes: Xaivian Lee has zero turnovers in his last 86 minutes on the floor … Fland had 15 points to go with three rebounds and two steals. He hit 7-13 of his shots … Condon had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal … Haugh’s box score – 11 points, two rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals … Chinyelu didn’t get a double-double, but he did become the fourth Gator in history to have a third 20-rebound game … The Gators have won five consecutive SEC road games.     Elsewhere in the SEC Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC) 93, Ole Miss (11-13, 3-8) 74: All of Latrell Wrightsell’s 21 points came from the 3-point line as Alabama won its third straight game. Freshman Amari Allen had an outstanding game with 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots. AJ Storr came off the bench to score a game-high 27 for Ole Miss.   Missouri (17-7, 7-4 SEC) 86, Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC) 85: Missouri’s size was too much for the Aggies to overcome. They’ve lost three in a row. Mizzou’s winning points came on an alley-oop lob to 7-footer Shawn Phillips, who also blocked Rashaun Agee’s attempt at a game-winner at the buzzer. Trent Pierce led Missouri with 23 while Zach Clemence scored 20 for A&M.   Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC) 73, Mississippi State (11-13, 3-8 SEC) 64: The Vols won this in the paint, outrebounding Mississippi State 45-31. Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 18 to lead Tennessee while freshman Nate Ament scored 16 to go with five assists. Josh Hubbard launched 24 shots for MSU and scored 31 points.   Saturday’s games 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)   Kenpom.com top 25: 1. Michigan 23-1; 2. Arizona 23-1; 3. Duke 22-2; 4. Houston 22-2; 5. FLORIDA 18-6; 6. Illinois 20-5; 7. Iowa State 21-3; 8. UConn 23-2; 9. Purdue 20-4; 10. Michigan State 20-4; 11. Gonzaga 24-2; 12. Kansas 19-5; 13. Vanderbilt 20-4; 14. Nebraska 21-3; 15. Louisville 18-6; 16. Arkansas 18-6; 18. Tennessee 17-7; 18. Virginia 21-3; 19. Iowa 18-5; 20. Alabama 17-7; 21. BYU 18-6; 22. Texas Tech 17-6; 23. St. John’s 19-5; 24. Saint Louis 23-1; 25. Utah State 21-3 (Other SEC teams: 27. Kentucky 17-7; 31. Auburn 14-10; 33. Texas 15-9; 35. Texas A&M 17-7; 41. Georgia 17-7; 52. Missouri 17-7; 56. LSU 14-10; 58. Oklahoma 12-12; 71. Ole Miss 11-13; 88. Mississippi State 11-13; 99. South Carolina 11-13   Barttorvik.com top 25: 1. Michigan 23-1; 2. Houston 22-2; 3. Arizona 23-1; 4. FLORIDA 17-6; 5. Duke 22-2; 6. Illinois 20-5; 7. UConn 23-2; 8. Purdue 20-4; 9. Iowa State 21-3; 10. Kansas 19-5; 11. Vanderbilt 20-4; 12. Nebraska 21-3; 13. Texas Tech 18-6; 14. Louisville 18-6; 15. Michigan State 20-4; 16. Gonzaga 24-2; 17. Tennessee 17-7; 18. Virginia 21-3; 19. Alabama 17-7; 20. Arkansas 18-6; 21. St. John’s 19-5; 22. Saint Louis 23-1; 23. Iowa 18-6; 24. Indiana 17-8; 25. Clemson 20-5 ( Other SEC teams: 30. Texas A&M 17-7; 31. Auburn 14-10; 39. Kentucky 17-7; 41. Texas 15-9; 43. Georgia 17-7; 49. Missouri 17-7; 58. Oklahoma 12-12; 66. LSU 14-10; 77. Ole Miss 11-13; 88. Mississippi State 11-13; 102. South Carolina 11-13   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC): The fans want a new coach. Lamont Paris is not the answer.   15. Mississippi State (11-13, 3-8 SEC): Josh Hubbard hung 31 on the Vols and Mississippi State still lost.   14. Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC): If Porter Moser can’t get the Sooners to the NIT then Porter Moser will be seeking gainful employment elsewhere.   13. Ole Miss (11-13, 3-8 SEC): The Rebels have a get well game with Mississippi State Saturday.   12. LSU (14-10, 2-9 SEC): The schedule is brutal the rest of the way. Making the NIT seems like a pipe dream.   11. Missouri (17-7, 7-4 SEC): Beating the Aggies in College Station was huge. The Tigers get Texas at home next.   10. Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC): Georgia is starting to look like an NIT team. The Bulldogs have squandered a 13-1 start to the season.   9. Texas A&M (1-7, 7-4 SEC): Three straight losses. The lack of size and talent is catching up to the Aggies.   8. Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC): Three straight losses and Saturday at Arkansas? 7. Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC): The Longhorns are on the NCAA bubble. They need a couple of good wins to ensure they’ll be dancing in March.   6. Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC): Freshman Nate Ament is being asked to carry the Vols. He’s good, but is he that good?   5. Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4 SEC): Duke Miles can’t get healthy fast enough.   4. Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC): No Charles Bediako, no problem. The Tide went 3-2 with him in the lineup.   3. Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC): The Wildats have won eight of nine since starting the SEC portion of the schedule 0-2.   2. Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC): If everybody is healthy, the Razorbacks can beat anyone in the league except Florida.   1. FLORIDA (18-6, 9-2 SEC): Time to face facts. The Gators are flat out good.

Boogie Fland has been been directing the Gators flawlessly (Photo by UAA Communications) The Gators were hot when they rolled into Athens last season. Winners of six straight and already with a blowout 30-point win over Georgia in Gainesville. Another blowout was expected, but a funny thing happened on the way to an easy win. Georgia ran up a 41-16 lead before the Gators woke from their funk.   The Gators staged a furious rally, the likes we have rarely seen, in the second half to actually take the lead with 1:28 left in the game. Now, the Gators gave out of gas and lost the game, 88-83, but that was the last time Florida lost. Twelve wins later, the Florida Gators were the national champions.   So here we are a year later. The Gators (17-6, 8-2 SEC) have won eight of their last nine games, own a 92-77 blowout win over Georgia in Gainesville, and find themselves being taken very seriously as potential Final Four contenders as they face off with Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC) in Athens tonight (7 p.m., ESPN2). The Gator Boyz are hot and Georgia is desperate for a signature win. The closest thing to signature among Georgia’s five SEC wins are in overtime against Auburn and a blowout of then No. 17 Arkansas, both at Stegman Coliseum where the Bulldogs can be formidable. A win over the 14 th -ranked Gators would provide a real jolt to Georgia’s NCAA hopes. Right now, Florida ranks No. 9 in the NCAA NET rankings. Georgia is No. 35 and in real need of a Quad 1 win.   Georgia isn’t the only team with plenty at stake tonight There are both NCAA and SEC ramifications for the Gators in this one. Florida holds a half-game lead over Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) in the SEC standings with the Wildcats due in Gainesville Saturday. The SEC champion is the regular season winner, so getting a ninth SEC win against Georgia and then potentially gaining another game of separation with a win over UK in Gainesville would put Florida in outstanding position capture its first SEC title since 2014.   How do the Gators avoid an ambush like the one last year in Athens? Staying the course of what has been successful in recent weeks is a good place to start. That means defense, rebounding, taking care of the basketball and dominating in the paint. The eight SEC wins have been by a combined margin of 167 points with a rebounding margin of 119. The Gators have turned the ball over only 73 times in the eight wins while forcing 100 opponent turnovers. In the paint, the Gators have scored 408 points in the eight wins while allowing just 232.   Critical for the Gators will be to take this game seriously without looking ahead to the Saturday showdown at the O-Dome with Kentucky. If Florida shows up with its focus in the right place, this should be a good win for the Gators.   Anticipated starting lineups No. 14 FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 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, SR)   Georgia (16-7, 5-5 SEC): Kanon Catchings (6-9, 220, SO); Somto Cyril (6-11, 260, SO); Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185, SO); Blue Cain (6-5, 195, JR); Jordan Ross (6-3, 195, JR)   Game notes: Alex Condon is 38 points from 1,000 for his Florida career. He has scored 962 in 95 career games. He’s averaging 10.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for his career … Tommy Haugh needs 59 points to make 1,000 for his career.  For 99 games he is averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game … Rueben Chinyelu has more points (276) and more rebounds (264) in 23 games this year than he had in 40 games a year ago. Chinyelu leads the SEC in rebounding (11.5 per game), which ranks fourth nationally. He also leads the SEC in offensive rebounds ( and is fourth nationally … In SEC games only, Urban Klavzar is hitting 41 percent while Haugh is hitting 37.5 percent. Haugh has made a 3-pointer in 18 consecutive games … In SEC games, Boogie Fland has 55 assists against only 16 turnovers.   Tuesday’s scores No. 19 Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4 SEC) 84, Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC) 76: Tyler Tanner’s 25 points included 12-13 from the foul line as Vanderbilt became the first SEC team to get to 20 wins this season. Tanner, who also had four rebounds, six assists and two steals, got 22 points of support from Jalen Washington. Tahaad Pettiford scored 21 for Auburn, which lost its second straight game.   No. 21 Arkansas (18-6, 8-3 SEC) 91, LSU (14-10, 2-9 SEC) 62: The Razorbacks took only 12 threes (made three) the entire game, but they didn’t need them. Darius Acuff Jr. scored 28 and Meleek Thomas 20 to lead Arkansas. LSU, held to 3-21 from the 3-point line, got 18 points from Marquel Sutton.   Wednesday’s games No. 14 FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 SEC) at Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC) Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC) Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC) Missouri (16-7, 6-4, SEC) at Texas A&M (17-6, 7-3 SEC)   The Athletic top 25: 1. Arizona; 2. Michigan; 3. UConn; 4. Duke; 5. Illinois; 6. Hourston; 7. Nebraska; 8. Iowa State; 9. Purdue; 10. Michigan State; 11. Kansas; 12. FLORIDA; 13. Texas Tech; 14. Gonzaga; 15. Virginia; 16. St. John’s; 17. North Carolina; 18. Saint Louis; 19. Vanderbilt; 20. Alabama; 21. Arkansas; 22. Iowa; 23. Tennessee; 24. BYU; 25. Louisville   SEC teams in ESPN (Joe Lunardi) bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Nebraska; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Gonzaga (Other SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 8. Texas A&M)   South: 1. UConn; 2. Houston; 3. Purdue; 4. Virginia (SEC teams: 5. Tennessee; 11. Texas)   Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Michigan State; 4. North Carolina (SEC teams: 6. Arkansas; 7. Kentucky; 8. Auburn)   South: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Kansas; 4. Texas Tech (SEC teams: 5. Vanderbilt; 10. Georgia)   SEC teams in CBS bracketology Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Gonzaga (Other SEC teams: 6. Arkansas; 7. Tennessee)   South: 1. Houston; 2. Illinois; 3. Michigan State; 4. Vanderbilt (Other SEC teams: 8. Georgia; 11. Missouri)   West: 1. Arizona; 2. UConn; 3. Nebraska; 4. Texas Tech (SEC teams: 6. Kentucky; 9, Texas A&M)   East: 1. Duke; 2. Kansas; 3. Purdue; 4. Alabama (Other SEC teams: 8. Auburn; 10. Texas)   SEC teams in The Athletic bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Nebraska; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Gonzaga   South: 1. UConn; 2. Iowa State; 3. Michigan State; 4. Virginia (SEC teams: 5. Vanderbilt; 11. Texas)   Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Houston; 3. Purdue; 4. Texas Tech (SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 6. Kentucky; 8. Auburn; 10. Georgia   East: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Kansas; 4. St. John’s (SEC teams: 5. Tennessee; 6. Arkansas; 9. Texas A&M)    SEC teams in Sports Illustrated bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Nebraska; 3. Kansas; 4. Gonzaga (SEC teams: 5. Vanderbilt)   Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Houston; 3. Purdue; 4. North Carolina (SEC teams: 6. Arkansas)   East: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Texas Tech (Other SEC teams: 5. Kentucky; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Georgia)   South: 1. UConn; 2. Iowa State; 3. Michigan State; 4. Alabama (Other SEC teams: 7. Tennessee; 8. Auburn; 11. Texas)   The Sporting News bracketology No. 1 seeds: Arizona; Michigan; Duke; UConn No. 2 seeds: Iowa State; Houston; FLORIDA; Illinois No. 3 seeds: Nebraska; Michigan State; Gonzaga; Kansas No. 4 seeds: Purdue; Virginia; Vanderbilt; St. John’s No. 5 seeds: Texas Tech; Alabama; North Carolina; Louisville No. 6 seeds: BYU; Arkansas; Clemson; Tennessee No. 7 seeds: Kentucky; Saint Louis; Iowa; North Carolina State No. 8 seeds: Texas A&M; Villanova; Auburn; Utah State No. 9 seeds: Saint Mary’s; SMU; Wisconsin; UCLA No. 10 seeds: Indiana; Georgia; Texas; UCF No. 11 seeds (** play-in): Miami (OH); Southern California; Santa Clara; San Diego State; Miami (FL); California No. 12 seeds: Tulsa; Belmont; Yale; Liberty No. 13 seeds: Stephen F. Austin; Utah Valley; UNC-Wilmington; North Dakota State No. 14 seeds: East Tennessee State; UC-Irvine; Winthrop; Troy No. 15 seeds: Portland State; Wright State; Austin Peay; Navy No. 16 seeds (** play-in): UT-Martin; Merrimack; Long Island; Bethune-Cookman; UMBC; Morgan State On the bubble: Ohio State; New Mexico; Missouri; Seton Hall

Downtown Ava Brown: She got in the home run derby (UAA Photo)

Urban Klavzar, aka Lethal Weapon III, is Florida's designated shooter (Photo by Chris Spears) It was about this time a year ago that the Florida Gators began shaping up as the best team in the country. A dominant 90-81 win on the road over then No. 1 Auburn was the game that opened the eyes of the nation that the Gators were the real deal and a serious contender to win a national championship.   One day short of a year later, the Gators (17-6, 8-2 SEC) scored a very impressive win over Texas A&M in College Station. Not only did the beatdown of the Aggies put the Gators in sole possession of first place in the SEC, it served notice to the rest of the nation that Florida repeating as national champion isn’t such a far-fetched dream.     With eight SEC games remaining a year ago, the Gators stood 20-3 overall, 7-3 in the SEC, ranked No. 3 in the nation. As of today’s Associated Press rankings, the Gators are No. 14, which is too low, but Todd Golden will play that as a disrespect card. It will be awhile before the Gators sniff the rare air of the top five. Six losses will do that for you, but the losses are by a combined 26 points and they include white knuckles losses to now No. 1 Arizona in Las Vegas; No. 4 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium and now No. 6 UConn in Madison Square Garden. All those losses were pre-Christmas and in each one, the Gators were in position to win in the last 30 seconds. With the exception of the 9-point loss to Auburn, the Gators were a last possession away from winning five of six games.   Now, top to bottom the Southeastern Conference is still the most competitive league in the nation but it won’t put a record 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. Most of the experts predict 10 SEC teams, which will match the Big Ten. The knock on the Gators a year ago was the strength of schedule was built on a 14-4 SEC record. This year, Golden upgraded the non-conference schedule. Mix that in with having to do a rebuild of a team that no longer has one of the great backcourt combos in recent college basketball history. Start connecting the dots and you should be able to understand why it is just now that the Gators are becoming that tsunami wave that is going to continue to grow in size and strength.   It has taken the Gators this long to both create a new identity and grow comfortable with it. A year ago there was no state secret how the Gators were going to win games. Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin and Denzel Aberdeen would fill up the basket from the outside, the big guys would rebound and everybody played stifling defense.   This year Golden lacks shooters who can bail the Gators out of just about any circumstance, so he has gone about proving why he’s one of the best coaches in the country at adjusting on the fly. His perimeter guys are the gang that can’t shoot straight, but surprisingly, they’ve actually made more threes than their opponents. If there is a positive to all the missed threes it is the Gators are the best offensive rebounding team in the country and many of the misses turn into stickbacks.   The Gators shot 35.6 percent as a team from three a year ago. This year they’re struggling at 28.8 percent. Xaivian Lee is shooting 25 percent and Boogie Fland a dismal 18.2 percent. History says they’re better shooters than that and they’ve had games in which the threes dropped, but more often than not they miss. Urban Klavzar is in the process of becoming Lethal Weapon III for UF, sort of the designated shooter. He is hitting a team high 38 percent on his threes and everything he throws up looks good the moment it leaves his hand. Leave Isaiah Brown alone in the corner and he can nail a three, but he’s the team’s most explosive dunker, particularly off baseline drives. His minutes continue to increase.    Although they don’t shoot the ball well from the outside, both Fland (11.3) and Lee (10.7) score and rarely turn the ball over. They’re so good handling the ball that they make the Gators almost impossible to press. Defensively, they’re both exceptional.   So it’s a tradeoff for Golden. While he waits to see if the shooting will ever come around, he has reinvented the Gators into one that is brutalizing opponents with their rebounding, defense and domination in the paint. The Gators lead the nation in rebounding (46 per game), offensive rebounding (16.64 per game) and rebounding margin (+15 per game). Defensively, the Gators are fourth nationally in defensive efficiency per Bart Torvik, sixth per Ken Pomeroy.   Scoring hasn’t suffered. In their 18 regular season SEC games a year ago, the Gators scored 100 in a loss to Kentucky and scored more than 90 just three other times. Through 10 SEC games, the Gators have scored 90 or more six times and 100 once. When the Gators hung 100 on Alabama, they did it by taking only 13 threes (made 3) the entire game, while scoring an unheard of 72 in the paint.   The four on the front line – 6-9 Tommy Haugh, 6-11 Alex Condon, 6-11 Rueben Chinyelu and 7-1 Micah Handlogten – are the focus on both ends of the floor. They are the reason the Gators dominate the paint and force opponents into a lot of one-and-done trips down the floor. The offensive rebounding means a lot of extended possessions for the Gators, who are No. 9 nationally in Bart Torvik’s offensive analytics, No. 13 at Ken Pomeroy.   As well as the Gators are playing Boogie Fland has issued a warning.   “We haven’t played our best basketball,” Fland said after the Alabama blowout win. “ That is the crazy part. We're scoring 100 and not playing our best basketball yet. So that is crazy. We still have more to grow, more room for improvement."   That is crazy. It’s also scary for whoever gets in the path of this team moving forward. A year ago this was when the Gators found the extra gear that carried them to the Final Four and a national title. This isn’t last year’s team, but it’s one that is heating up and starting to look very capable of cutting down the nets in the future.   BEDIAKO RULED INELIGIBLE Judge Daniel Pruet in Tuscaloosa, Alabama revoked the temporary restraining order that was allowing Charles Bediako to resume playing college basketball after spending two years in the G-League. The judge denied Bediako’s motion to overturn NCAA eligibility rules which prohibit him from playing because he signed an NBA 2-way contract. While under the protection of the TRO, Bediako played in five games, averaging 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game.   Associated Press top 25: 1. Arizona 23-0; 2. Michigan 22-1; 3. Houston 21-2; 4. Duke 21-2; 5. Iowa State 21-2; 6. UConn 22-2; 7. Nebraska 21-2; 8. Illinois 20-4. Kansas 18-5; 10. Michigan State 20-4; 11. North Carolina 19-4; 12. Gonzaga 23-2; 13. Purdue 19-4; 14. FLORIDA 17-6; 15. Virginia 20-3; 16. Texas Tech 17-6; 17. St. John’s 18-5; 18. Saint Louis 23-1; 19. Vanderbilt 19-4; 20. Clemson 20-4; 21. Arkansas 17-6; 22. BYU 17-6; 23. Miami (OH) 24-0; 24. Louisville 17-6; 25. Kentucky 17-7   Coaches top 25: 1. Arizona 23-0; 2. Michigan 22-1; 3. Houston 21-2; 3. Iowa State 21-2; 5. UConn 22-2; 6. Duke 21-2; 7. Illinois 20-4; 8. Nebraska 21-2; 9. Kansas 18-5; 10. Michigan State 20-4; 11. Gonzaga 23-2; 12. Purdue 19-4; 13. North Carolina  19-4; 14. FLORIDA 17-6; 15. Virginia 20-3; 16. Texas Tech 17-6; 17. St. John’s 18-5; 18. Clemson 20-4; 19. Saint Louis 23-1; 20. Vanderbilt 19-4; 21. Arkansas 17-6; 22. BYU 17-6; 23. Louisville 17-6; 24. Miami (OH) 24-0; 25. Iowa 16-5   Tuesday’s games No. 19 Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC) at Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC) No. 21 Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC) at LSU (14-9, 2-8 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 14 FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 SEC) at Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC)) Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (17-5, 7-3 SEC) Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC) Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC)   Saturday’s games No. 25 Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) at No. 14 FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 SEC) Texas A&M (17-6, 7-3 SEC) at No. 19 Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC) Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC) at No. 21 Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC) LSU (14-9, 2-8 SEC) at Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC) at Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC) at Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC) Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC)   SEC teams in latest Bart Torvik analytics: 4. FLORIDA 17-6; 12. Vanderbilt 19-4; 15. Tennessee 16-7; 20. Alabama 16-7; 26. Arkansas 17-6; 28. Texas A&M 17-6; 30. Auburn 14-9; 40. Kentucky 17-7; 41. Georgia 17-6; 42. Texas 15-9; 52. Missouri 16-7; 59. LSU 14-9; 62. Oklahoma 12-12; 80. Ole Miss 11-12; 90. Mississippi State 11-12; 104. South Carolina 11-13   SEC teams in latest CBS Sports bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. UConn; 3. Purdue; 4. Alabama (Other SEC: 6. Arkansas) South: 1. Houston; 2. Illinois; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Gonzaga (Other SEC: 10. Texas) Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Michigan State; 4. Virginia (SEC: 5. Tennessee; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Georgia) East: 1. Duke; 2, Nebraska; 3. Kansas; 4. Vanderbilt (Other SEC: 7. Kentucky; 8. Auburn)   SEC in NCAA NET rankings: 9. FLORIDA; 14. Vanderbilt; 21. Tennessee; 23. Alabama; 26. Arkansas; 28. Kentucky; 31. Auburn; 35. Georgia; 36. Texas; 40. Texas A&M; 58. LSU; 62. Missouri; 74. Oklahoma; 83. Ole Miss; 96. Mississippi State; 113. South Carolina   ESPN Bubble Watch Conference by Conference BIG TEN Mortal locks (5): Michigan; Illinois; Nebraska; Purdue; Michigan State Should get in (4): Iowa; Indiana; Wisconsin; UCLA Work to do (3): Southern California; Ohio State; Washington   SEC Mortal locks (6): FLORIDA; Vanderbilt; Alabama; Tennessee; Arkansas; Kentucky Should get in (3): Auburn; Georgia; Texas A&M Work to do (2): Texas; Missouri Long shot (1): LSU   ACC Mortal locks (6): Duke, Virginia; Louisville; North Carolina; Clemson; North Carolina State Should get in (1): SMU Work to do (3): Miami; Virginia Tech; California Longshot (1): Stanford   Big 12 Mortal locks (6): Arizona; Iowa State; Houston; Kansas; Texas Tech; BYU Should get in (1): UCF Work to do (3): Oklahoma State; Baylor; West Virginia; TCU   Big East Mortal locks (3): UConn; St. John’s; Villanova Work to do (1): Seton Hall Long shot: Creighton   Everybody else Mortal locks (2): Gonzaga (West Coast Conference); Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) Should get in (3): Utah State (Mountain West); Saint Mary’s (West Coast Conference); Santa Clara (West Coast Conference) Work to do (7): Miami Ohio (MAC); San Diego State (Mountain West); New Mexico (Mountain West); VCU (Atlantic 10); Tulsa (American); Boise State (Mountain West);  Belmont (Missouri Valley) Long shots Nevada (Mountain West; Grand Canyon (Mountain West); George Mason (Atlantic 10); South Florida (America); Liberty (Conference USA); McNeese (Southland); Yale (Ivy); Akron (MAC); Dayton (Atlantic 10); Stephen F. Austin (Southland)

Chenyelu on the attack in College Station -- when he wasn't bring held. (UAA Photo)

#2 Florida fell to #7 Missouri in Columbia 197.200 - 196.500. In an uncharacteristic start to the meet the Gators had three bad rotations on an event they were ranked number one in the country in, Bars. You have to go WAY back to 2010 to find a lower score on this event that Florida always dominates year after year.

When you've seen every Super Bowl, it's tough to pick, but there's one in particular that I will always cherish.

Tommy Haugh scores over A&M's Ruben Dominguez (Photo courtesy of UAA Communications)   They came in droves, filling Reed Arena to the rafters, believing Bucky Ball would slay Goliath. When Jacari Lane drove for a layup with 18:09 left in the half that gave Texas A&M a 2-1 lead, hope sprung eternal among Aggie fans.   It didn’t last very long. It took nearly 10 minutes for the Aggies to see the ball go through the net again and that was a Jamie Vinson free throw with 8:31 to go. And, another 45 seconds before they got a second two-point basket, this one a second-chance layup from Zach Clemence.   By then it was 13-5 and the Florida Gators were turning what Aggie fans had hoped for a monumental upset into nuclear winter. Prior to the Clemence layup, Texas A&M was 1-25 from the field and 0-for-its-first-12 threes. The famed Bucky Ball press was proving to be nothing more than a nuisance. No, the Gators weren't piling on the points, but they really didn’t have to. The Gators were more than content to go about winning ugly.   It was 30-19 at the half, rather pedestrian but for the Gators rather non-threatening. The Gators threw in some finesse, amped up the tempo and left the Aggies gagging in the tall grass on the side of the road in the second half.   “I thought we played well in the first half and we knew that we were going to get their best shot coming out at halftime,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the Gators hung 56 on the Aggies in the second half to walk away with an 86-67 win that left UF in sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 2014.   Well, the Aggies best shot resulted in more points and a faster tempo. What it didn’t do was put a dent in the 19 th -ranked Gators (17-6, 8-2 SEC). The Aggies wanted to play fast. The Gators obliged.   Slow pace, fast pace. It really didn’t matter. Either way a Florida feeding frenzy.   “It was the same story as the first half, got to make sure we don't let their 3-point shooters get off,” Golden said. “We've got to make sure we take care of the basketball. The message at halftime was we did a really poor job rebounding in the first half. We were minus-2 overall, and I thought we were not as physical as we needed to be that way. We obviously defended well in the first half. We took care of the ball well enough in the first half, but we really challenged our guys to do a better job rebounding in the second half, and we did that. We were plus-9 on the boards in the second half."   The Gators were plus-everything in the second half. What the Aggies discovered was their bell-to-bell pressure designed to wreak havoc might work well against the rest of the Southeastern Conference, but first and foremost, it doesn’t work well at all against a team that (a) is next to impossible to press because its guards don’t get trapped nor do they turn the ball over; (b) totally dominates the paint; (c) goes eight-deep with plug-and-play athletes who turn brush fires into blazing infernos; and (d) has the SEC’s best player in Tommy Haugh, ready to atone for a 1-point, 1-rebounds first 20 minutes.   The Gators turned the ball over nine times, six in the first half and just three in the second. Starting guards Boogie Fland had nine points, three rebounds, four assists and only two turnovers, and Xaivian Lee scored 10, grabbed three rebounds, handed out three assists and didn’t turn the ball over.   “We had nine turnovers,” Golden said. “A couple early a little fluky. I think we had four turnovers in the first six or seven minutes of the game and then five the rest. Our ability to not only take care of the ball but really advance it and attack in transition led to a lot of runouts and dunks for us in the second half, and I thought our guys did a really good job of playing fast, but not in a hurry."   In the paint, the Gators outscored the Aggies, 48-24. The Gators outrebounded the Aggies 50-43, which was a bit deceiving. The Aggies launched so many threes that the rebounds came out long on the perimeter. A&M was 1-14 on first half threes, 9-34 for the game (26.5 percent).   Rueben Chinyelu (10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), Alex Condon (4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot) and Tommy Haugh (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal) did their usual damage.   Off the bench, Urban Klavzar scored 11 with two rebounds and an assist. Isaiah Brown scored 12 with three rebounds and an assist. Micah Handlogten had six points, seven rebounds and two steals.   Haugh made a statement that he’s the best player in the SEC when he put together 21 points, six rebounds and two assists in the second half. It was 61-40 when Haugh made the Aggies his personal whipping boy. Over the next six minutes he was the Aggie’s’ worst nightmare, scoring 15 of Florida’s 20 points.   To combat what Florida was throwing at them, the Aggies were all but helpless to stop the onslaught. Although they shot the ball better in the second half, their numbers were nothing to write home about. Texas A&M went 22-72 from the field (30.6 percent) and that included missing 16 of 25 layups. They were outscored on the fast break 21-7 and their nine forced turnovers resulted in only three points.   "I thought our guys did an incredible job of being on the scouting report,” Golden said. “Obviously A&M has some lethal shooters and some really aggressive, physical drivers, and our guys did a really good job of understanding that personnel. When they start that way [in the first half], there's a little luck involved in that, also. But I think big-picture-wise, our guys did a really good job of getting them to take the shots that we wanted them to take. And once they missed a few, I thought it snowballed a little bit. Second half, we obviously didn't defend nearly as well, gave up three times as many points as we did in the first, but we got off to a great start that way."   The way the Gators came out of the locker at halftime, the Aggies were completely doomed. Florida went on a 24-5 run that stretched the lead to 52-24 in the first five-and-a-half-minutes. Florida scored on 27 of 37 possessions.   It was supposed to be a showdown and a clash of styles. The only thing it proved to be was just another day at the office for the Florida Gators, who travel to Athens to face Georgia Wednesday.   SEC in kenpom.com national analytics: 7. FLORIDA 17-6; 14. Vanderbilt 19-5; 18. Tennessee 16-7; 20. Alabama 16-7; 23. Arkansas 17-6; 30. Auburn 14-9; 31. Kentucky 17-7; 33. Texas A&M 17-6; 34. Texas 15-9; 37. Georgia 17-6; 51. LSU 14-9; 52. Missouri 16-7; 61. Oklahoma 12-12; 67. Ole Miss 11-12; 88. Mississippi State 11-12; 96. South Carolina 11-13 Saturday SEC scores Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC) 92, No. 15 Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC) 91: Vanderbilt trailed by 21 with 4:59 to go but the Commodores rallied and nearly pulled out an impossible win.  Xzayvier Brown hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left to put Oklahoma ahead 92-88, saving the game for the Sooners, who broke a 9-game SEC losing streak. Brown led the Sooners with 20 points. Tyler Tanner, who at one point was 4-16 from the field, hit six of his last seven shots to lead the comeback, finishing the game with 37 points, three rebounds, nine assists, five steals and two blocked shots.    No. 21 Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC) 88, Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC) 68: Arkansas clamped down on Mississippi State’s 3-point shooters, holding them to a combined 3-15 including 0-4 by leading scorer Josh Hubbard. Darius Acuff Jr. led Arkansas with 24 points, eight assists and just one turnover. The Razorbacks, who were down two starters, had 24 assists on 36 made baskets. Hubbard scored 16 for the Bulldogs, who lost their seventh game in the last eight.   Kentucky (17-7, 7-3 SEC) 74, No. 25 Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) 71: The Volunteers blew a 14-point halftime lead. Kentucky took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Collin Chandler with 32 seconds to go and then held on, surviving a buzzer beater scare when Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 50 foot shot at the buzzer clanged off the iron. Otega Oweh had 21 points to lead Kentucky while Denzel Aberdeen scored 16 including a pair of clutch free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining. Nate Ament of Tennessee led all scorers with 29.   Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) 96, Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC) 92: The difference was at the 3-point line where Alabama connected on 12-23 while Auburn was just 9-28. Auburn had several chances to tie or go ahead late game but couldn’t hit crucial shots when it needed them most. For Alabama, Labaron Philon Jr. had 25 points, five rebounds, six assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Tahaad Pettiford with 25 and Keyshawn Hall with 24 led Auburn.   Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC) 83, LSU (14-9, 2-8) 71: The Bulldogs broke a 3-game losing streak in SEC play by taking down LSU behind 23 points from Kanon Catchings. Georgia shot 51 percent overall and 10-25 (40 percent) from the 3-point line. LSU managed only 5-23 from three. Max Mackinnon led LSU with 26.   Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) 78, South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC) 59: The Gamecocks went down in flames for the fifth straight game as Missouri held them to 17-59 shooting from the floor overall and 3-22 from the 3-point line. Mizzou was led by Mark Mitchell, who had 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Jayden Stone, who scored 22. South Carolina got 13 points from Meechie Johnson.   Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC) 79, Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC) 68: Ole Miss rallied from an 18-point first half deficit to take the lead in the second half, but the Rebels were outscored 14-0 in the final four minutes. Matas Vokietatis led Texas with 27 points and seven rebounds. Eduardo Klafke led Ole Miss with 14.   Tuesday’s games No. 15 Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC) at Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC) No. 21 Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC) at LSU (14-9, 2-8 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 17 FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 SEC) at Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC)) Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (17-5, 7-3 SEC) Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC) No. 25 Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC): The Gamecocks are always hustling, but they don’t have any size, they lack shooters and they turn the ball over way too much. Situation grim. Very grim.   15. Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC): Chris Jans won’t lose his job this year, but he’ll be on the hot seat next. They’ve lost five in a row and the next two (at Alabama, at Florida) are going to edge the Bulldogs closer to a losing season.   14. Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC): Porter Moser got an SEC win, surprisingly on the road at Vanderbilt. Can he get to six SEC wins? That might save his job.   13. LSU (14-9, 2-8 SEC): If Matt McMahon survives and is the coach next year, he should send expensive Christmas presents to Brian Kelly and Lane Kiffin. The cost of firing Kelly and hiring Kiffin may make firing McMahon prohibitive.   12. Ole Miss (11-12, 3-7 SEC): The NIT is starting to seem like a pipe dream. Right now avoiding a losing season is first and foremost the goal.   11. Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC): The next five games are brutal for a Mizzou team that finds itself squarely on the NCAA bubble.   10. Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC): The Longhorns have to get to 10 SEC wins to make the NCAA Tournament.   9. Georgia (17-6, 5-5 SEC): Georgia may have regained its lost mojo in Baton Rouge when the Bulldogs came from 15 down in the first half to win by 12. They struggle defensively, but they can win a lot of track meet style games.   8. Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC): The Tigers are getting killed on the boards. If they can’t rebound better they may find themselves on the NCAA bubble. 7. Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC): Two of the four SEC losses are to Kentucky. In both games the Vols blew double-digit leads. They desperately miss Zakai Ziegler.   6. Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC): The longer Duke Miles and Frankie Collins are out with injuries, the more susceptible the Commodores will be to losing. Tyler Tanner needs help in the worst way.   5. Texas A&M (17-5, 7-3 SEC): Bucky Ball is very difficult to prepare for. When the Aggies force opponents into helter-skelter, up-and-down games they can overcome the fact they have the shortest and least talented roster in the SEC.   4. Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC): The Crimson Tide and defense are two ships passing in the night. Way, way apart. When they can’t make threes they’re toast. Concede the three to them and they’ll burn you.   3. Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC): The Wildcats can’t rebound and they’re not very good shooting threes, but they’ve won eight of their last nine SEC games. Go figure.   2. Arkansas (17-6, 7-3 SEC): The Razorbacks better hope the injuries to Karter Knox (knee) and DJ Wagner (ankle) heal up in a hurry. When at full strength, the Hogs can beat everyone in the league but Florida.   1. FLORIDA (17-6, 8-2 SEC): The Gator Boyz are heating up again and looking very formidable. Easily the best team in the SEC.

Xaivian Lee's defense will be critical tonight against the Aggies (Photo by Chris Spears)   Nobody in the Southeastern Conference plays with a bigger chip on their shoulder than the Texas A&M Aggies (17-5, 7-2 SEC). First-year coach Bucky McMillan has sold the Aggies on an us against the world mentality and it’s working quite well. The Aggies are the most vertically challenged team in the SEC and from a pure talent perspective, they probably rank among the bottom feeders.   Yet, McMillan, a high school coaching legend in Alabama who took Mountain Brook to five state championships and followed that up with 99 wins in five years as the head coach at Samford, has gotten the Aggies to adapt well to what has become known as “Bucky Ball.” That’s bell-to-bell full court pressure with the intent of turning every game into a track meet where everybody has the green light to bomb away from the 3-point line.   It is working well enough that the Aggies are tied with 17 th -ranked Florida (16-6, 7-2 SEC) for the conference lead. Texas A&M is second in the SEC in scoring (92 points per game) and leads the league in 3-point percentage (37.6). Alabama and Georgia both play at a very fast pace, but nobody presses and forces tempo quite like the Aggies.   That is the challenge for the Gators tonight (8:30 p.m., SEC Network) when the Gators take on the Aggies at sold out Reed Arena in College Station. Todd Golden loves it when the Gators play at a fast pace, but taking care of the basketball is essential. Early season losses to Arizona, TCU, UConn and Duke had plenty to do with turnovers (59 combined in those four games). In their last seven games, the Gators (6-1) have turned it over only 61 times.   The two teams that have tried to beat the Gators with consistent full court pressure were Vanderbilt and Alabama. Florida turned the ball over 10 times against Vandy but rarely against the press. Against Alabama, the Gators turned it over only twice the entire game, both times in the second half.   Teams that press the Gators rarely force a bad inbounds pass. If Tommy Haugh and Xaivian Lee are covered up, Alex Condon is the release guy in the middle, who either pitches it back immediately to Boogie Fland, a one-man wrecking crew against the press, or puts the ball on the deck and breaks the press himself.   Against Alabama, the Gators broke the press easily and turned it into fast break advantages at the other end. Condon had a brilliant game as both a scorer (25 points) and ball handler (six assists). Fland, who scored 15, had eight steals and eight assists as well.   Florida has a huge size advantage over the Aggies, but so does nearly every team A&M plays. The Gators have to value the basketball, dominate the rebounding to force the Aggies into a lot of one-and-done trips down the court, and they have to force the Aggies off the 3-point line. Alabama tried to lure the Gators into a 3-point shooting contest, but instead of trying to match Bama shot-for-shot, the Gators took only 13 threes (made three). The Gators didn’t have to take threes. They moved the ball so efficiently (24 assists) that they got the shots they wanted on the inside.   Figure the Aggies will try to tempt the Gators into taking a lot of threes by clogging up the lane. South Carolina and Alabama have tried that the last two games and the Gators have responded with great passing for dominant inside play.   At some point this season, the hope is that the 3-point shots will fall somewhere between 30-35 percent of the time, but until they do, they have to impose their will on opponents. The last two games have been a blueprint on how to win without killing it from deep.   The same formula should work again tonight.   Anticipated starting lineups No. 17 FLORIDA (16-6, 7-2 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, SR)   Texas A&M (17-5, 7-2 SEC): Rashaun Agee (6-8, 231, SR); Ruben Dominguez (6-6, 213, SO); Rylan Griffin (6-5, 181, SR); Marcus Hill (6-3, 192, SR); Jacari Lane (6-0, 178, SR)   SEC teams in kenpom.com national analytics: 7. FLORIDA 16-6; 13. Vanderbilt 19-3; 17. Tennessee 16-6; 21. Alabama 15-7; 25. Arkansas 16-6; 27. Auburn 14-8; 29. Texas A&M 17-5; 31. Kentucky 16-7; 33. Texas 14-9; 41. Georgia 16-6; 48. LSU 14-8; 56. Missouri 15-7; 66. Ole Miss 11-11; 71. Oklahoma 11-12; 84. Mississippi State 11-11; 88. South Carolina 11-12   SEC teams in barttorvik.com analytics: 8. FLORIDA 16-6; 10. Vanderbilt 19-3; 14. Tennessee 16-6; 20. Alabama 15-7; 23. Texas A&M 17-5; 29. Arkansas 16-6; 32. Auburn 14-8; 40. Texas 14-9; 41. Georgia 16-6; 42. Kentucky 16-7; 56. LSU 14-8; 58. Missouri 15-7; 75. Oklahoma 11-12; 79. Mississippi 11-11; 83. Mississippi State 11-11; 94. South Carolina 11-12   SEC in NCAA NET rankings: 11. FLORIDA; 14. Vanderbilt; 20. Tennessee; 23. Alabama; 26. Arkansas; 28. Kentucky; 30. Auburn; 35. Georgia; 36. Texas A&M; 38. Texas; 56. LSU; 68. Missouri; 83. Ole Miss 11-11; 85. Oklahoma 11-12; 95. Mississippi State 11-11; 105. South Carolina 11-12   SEC teams in ESPN (Joe Lunardi) bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Nebraska; 3. Gonzaga; 4. Virginia (SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 7. Kentucky)   South: 1. UConn; 2. Houston; 3. Purdue; 4. Vanderbilt (Other SEC teams: 6. Arkansas; 8. Texas A&M)   Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Texas Tech (Other SEC teams: 8. Auburn)   East: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Kansas; 4. Michigan State (SEC: 5. Tennessee; 10. Georgia; 11. Texas)   SEC teams in CBS Sports bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Illinois; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Virginia (Other SEC teams: 5. Tennessee; 6. Arkansas; 7. Auburn)   South: 1. UConn; 2. Iowa State; 3. Nebraska; 4. BYU (SEC teams: 11. Missouri)   Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. Houston; 3. Michigan State; 4. FLORIDA (Other SEC teams: 9. Texas A&M)   East: 1. Duke; 2. Purdue; 3. Kansas; 4. Gonzaga (SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 6. Kentucky; 9. Georgia; 10. Texas)   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s games No. 17 FLORIDA (16-6, 7-2 SEC) at Texas A&M (17-5, 7-2 SEC) Oklahoma (11-12, 1-9 SEC) at No. 15 Vanderbilt (19-3, 6-3 SEC) No. 21 Arkansas (16-6, 6-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-11, 3-6 SEC) No. 25 Tennessee (16-6, 6-3 SEC) at Kentucky (16-7, 7-3 SEC) Alabama (15-7, 5-4 SEC) at Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC) Georgia (16-6, 4-5 SEC) at LSU (14-8, 2-7 SEC) Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6 SEC) at Texas (14-9, 5-5 SEC) Missouri (15-7, 5-4 SEC) at South Carolina (11-12, 2-8 SEC)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. Oklahoma (11-12, 1-9 SEC): Nine straight losses have Sooner faithful begging the admin to start searching diligently for a coach to replace Porter Moser.   15. South Carolina (11-12, 2-8 SEC): The faithful are questioning the admin, which gave Lamont Paris a 6-year contract extension that runs through 2030. The Gamecocks are all but certain to post a third losing season in the last four.   14. Mississippi State (11-11, 3-6 SEC): To avoid a losing season, the Bulldogs need six wins in their last nine games. That would take a miracle of changing water into wine proportions.   13. LSU (14-8, 2-7 SEC): Three more wins and the Tigers will have a winning season. To have any chance at all at the postseason, the Tigers have to find four wins in the last nine.   12. Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6 SEC): Chris Beard’s team puts up a good fight against everyone, but the talent just isn’t there.   11. Missouri (15-7, 5-4 SEC): Some nights the Tigers can play with anybody. Others they play like bottom feeders. You never know which team is going to show up.   10. Texas (14-9, 5-5 SEC): The Longhorns are starting to play like a team that could make the NCAA Tournament. The next four games are very winnable.   9. Georgia (16-6, 4-5 SEC): The Bulldogs have lost three in a row and they have the look of a team ready to punch its ticket to the NIT. Mike White’s team can score but they can’t stop anyone.   8. Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC): The Tigers had a week to get their collective act together. They get Bama at home Saturday. If they’re going to make a run at the NCAA that would be a good place to start.   7. Alabama (15-7, 5-4 SEC): The Tide can’t play a lick of defense. Charles Bediako hasn’t really helped and there is a genuine lack of teamwork.   6. Kentucky (16-7, 7-3 SEC): The Wildcats can play great (see Arkansas in Fayette Nam) and they can also stink it up (see Vanderbilt in Nashville). You never know which team is going to show up.   5. Arkansas (16-6, 6-3 SEC): The Hogs have a get well game at Mississippi State. If they don’t get on a roll soon, this is a team that could easily go in the tank.   4. Tennessee (16-6, 6-3 SEC): The Vols take the momentum of four straight wins to Lexington where Felix Okpara will have to have a big game for UT to keep the streak alive.   3. Vanderbilt (19-3, 6-3 SEC): Oklahoma comes to Nashville this weekend so the Commodores are likely to become the first 20-game winner in the SEC.   2. Texas A&M (17-5, 7-2 SEC): The Aggies almost sprung the upset of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Can they take down the Gators Saturday night?   1. FLORIDA (16-6, 7-2 SEC): Nine games left, five on the road, four at home. The Gators are favored to win all of them.