Florida coach Todd Golden has been cleared of Title IX allegations (Photo by Chris Spears) The University of Florida has dropped its Title IX investigation of basketball coach Todd Golden. A statement released Monday morning said, “After a thorough investigation that included dozens of interviews over the past months, the University of Florida has found no evidence that Todd Golden violated Title IX. The Title IX office has closed its investigation.”   The Independent Florida Alligator reported that women including University of Florida students accused Golden of stalking, cyberstalking, sexual harassment and exploitation. According to the student newspaper, Golden’s accusers claimed he made uninvited sexual advances on Instagram and sent photos and videos of his genetalia. Allegedly, Golden stalked the women, taking photos of them walking or driving their cars as well as showing up at locations where he knew the women would be.   A formal complaint was filed through the Title IX office on September 27. The University of Florida used Grand River Solutions of California to conduct its investigation, but no evidence was found to support the allegations.   Golden was never suspended by UF but the coach did hire Ken Turkel, a well known Tampa attorney who takes on defamation cases. Turkel won a judgment of $140 million for Hulk Hogan in a high profile case against the website publication Gawker.   Despite the allegations against him, Golden stayed fully focused on basketball. The Gators are off to an 18-2 start (5-2 in the Southeastern Conference) and ranked No. 5 nationally.   I consider Todd Golden a friend. After the Gators wiped the O-Dome floor with then No. 1 Tennessee back on January 7, I was walking to my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Todd and for the next three or four minutes we had a conversation, mostly about basketball.   During the course of the conversation, while promising that everything said was confidential, I asked him point blank “Did you do it?”   Without hesitation, Golden replied, “No, I did not.”   I believed him then, just as I believed there was something strange about these allegations when they were first reported. First off, if there were actual photos, Golden would have already been fired. Second, there is a digital footprint for everything we do. Emails don’t disappear. There is a record for phone calls and phones leave a verifiable trace on where you have been. Third, if Golden had met or showed up where these women were, then it’s almost a certainty that there would be video evidence. It’s hard to find parking lots in Gainesville that don’t have cameras rolling 24 hours a day.   Also, the moment Ken Turkel was hired, I was confident that Todd was being falsely accused. Mr. Turkel is one of if not the best defamation attorney in the United States. His reputation is that he doesn’t take on a case until he has done some investigation and is satisfied the client is telling the truth when he/she claims innocence. That Mr. Turkel took on Todd as a client told me that the evidence or lack of would prove him innocent.   So, without the Title IX allegations hanging over his head, then Todd Golden can focus on leading the Gators, already off to the best start at UF in years.

Micah Handlogten (center) has been the tallest cheerleader in the country (UAA Photo) Sometime between now and Saturday when the 5th-ranked Gators take on 6th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, Micah Handlogten will be making a decision that could impact Florida’s chances to reach the Final Four. Handlogten, who was supposed to take a medical redshirt while recovering from a fractured leg suffered in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game last March, has been practicing in the last couple of weeks. He was scheduled to play in the Gators’ 89-59 win over Georgia, but he changed his mind and sat the game out.   As of Saturday afternoon, Florida coach Todd Golden seemed to think that Handlogten had made the decision to stay with the plan to sit out the year, but left the door open for a change of mind. "As of this moment, I would say he’s probably out," Golden said after the Gators had wiped out Georgia. "But he could wake up tomorrow and call me and say, ‘Hey man, that looked fun. Maybe let’s get out there next Saturday,’ but we’re gonna let him create his own timeline for returning. Whether that’s next week or next year is really gonna be up to him.” At 7-1, Handlogten is a serious rim protector and was one of the nation’s most effective offensive rebounders prior to his injury last year. As a sophomore at UF in 2024, Handlogten averaged 5.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Add him to Florida’s big man rotation of 6-11 Alex Condon, 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu, 6-9 Thomas Haugh and 6-9 Sam Alexis and the Gators might have the kind of depth, defense and rebounding that could carry them all the way to the NCAA Final Four.   “He’s healthy,” Golden said. “He’s been practicing and playing five-on-five in practice. I mean, he’s been going up against some really good SEC bigs every day in practice and we wouldn’t have allowed him to make that initial decision if we didn’t think he was ready.   “I think he could play, but again, it’s up to him. I want to make that very clear. We are not trying to pressure him to be out there if he’s not comfortable. Do I think he could be out there playing? Yeah, but again, he almost missed half the year. The game has changed a little bit. These guys have to have the ability to decide their paths and with his situation being so unique and that injury being so severe, we have a lot of patience with his decision making, what he’s going through.”   Even without Handlogten, the Gators have a legitimate shot at making it to the Final Four. The Gators have won when they’re hitting on all cylinders and they’ve won when they are less than their best. Last week they were less than their best at South Carolina, yet they came from 14 points down and won the game on a Will Richard shot with 4.8 seconds to go. Against Georgia, the Gators were in full beast mode at both ends of the court. For the second straight game the Gators had 13 steals. The Gators won the rebounding battle handily and placed five in double figures led by Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin with 17 each. Will Richard had 16, Alex Condon had 14 and Tommy Haugh had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.   When the Gators get it going at an intense level at both ends of the court, they are as good as any team in the country. Add Handlogten to the rotation and the Gators have another intimidator in the paint and another five fouls among the bigs, so important at tournament time when most games are called tighter. With 25 fouls to give that are at least 6-9, the Gators can have the depth to succeed in the paint even in a game in which the men in stripes have quick whistles.   BRACKETOLOGY: JERRY PALM HAS GATORS 2-SEED MIDWEST Jerry Palm of CBS Sports released his latest bracketology Sunday with Florida projecting as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional. The Gators are one of a record 13 teams that Palm projects in the NCAA field from the SEC. The Gators are holding steady as a No. 2 while Auburn and Alabama are both No. 1s. Tennessee, which was a No. 1, moved down to No. 2 (East) after the loss to Auburn.   Here are Palm’s projections for SEC teams: No. 1 seeds: Auburn (South); Alabama (Midwest) No. 2 seeds: FLORIDA (Midwest); Tennessee (East) No. 3 seeds: Kentucky (East); Texas A&M (West) No. 4 seeds: Ole Miss (West); Mississippi State (East) No. 6 seed: Missouri (Midwest) No. 8 seeds: Oklahoma (West); Georgia (East) No. 9 seed: Vanderbilt (Midwest) No. 11 seed: Texas (South)   SEC BASKETBALL No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC): Is there a rift with head coach Nate Oats and point guard Mark Sears? Sears sat the second half of Bama’s win over LSU Saturday. After the game Oats said he went with the guys he “thought gave us the best chance to win” and then dismissed any further questions. Sears didn’t score in 17 first half minutes. Alabama is No. 7 in the NCAA NET rankings.   Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC): With the injury and surgery to Boggie Fland’s hand, the Razorbacks are down to eight scholarship players. Fland had surgery on his hand that will keep him out of action the rest of the regular season. Arkansas is No. 58 in the NCAA NET rankings.   No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC): Johni Broome missed only two games with his severe ankle sprain. He returned Saturday night to score 16 points and grab 13 rebounds in leading Auburn to a 53-51 win over No. 6 Tennessee. Saturday morning, upon finding his car plastered with Tennessee logos, Broome said he made the decision he was going to play no matter what. Auburn is No. 1 in the NCAA NET rankings.   No. 4 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC): Florida’s five SEC wins are by an average of 18.6 points per game. The Gators two losses are by a combined seven points. The Gators are No. 5 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 5 at kenpom.com .   Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC): Since breaking into the Associated Press top 25, Georgia is 0-4. The Bulldogs have a chance to break their losing streak midweek when they play host to South Carolina. Georgia is No. 35 in the NCAA NET rankings. No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC): The Wildcats went 0-2 last week, losing at home to Alabama and on the road at Vanderbilt. Kentucky is No. 14 in the NCAA NET rankings.   LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC): Football tight end Trey’Dez Green saw action in LSU’s 80-73 loss to Alabama. In nine minutes, Green (6-7, 245) scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot. LSU is No. 67 in the NCAA NET rankings.     No. 15 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC): This was a week of blowing 14-point leads. After blowing a 14-point lead in regulation, the Bulldogs eked out a 65-60 win against South Carolina in Columbia. Earlier in the week, South Carolina blew a 14-point lead in a loss to Florida. Mississippi State is No. 21 in the NCAA NET rankings.   No. 22 Missouri (16-4, 5-2 SEC): Caleb Grill came off the bench to knock down six 3-pointers Saturday night, leading Missouri to an 83-75 win over Ole Miss. Missouri is No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings.   Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC): Oklahoma hung on to beat Arkansas, 65-62, in a game in which the Sooners once held a 12-point lead. Oklahoma is No. 47 in the NCAA NET rankings.   No. 23 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC): Since getting off to a 4-0 start in SEC play, the Rebels have lost their last three games. Ole Miss is No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings.   South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC): Four of South Carolina’s seven losses in Southeastern Conference play are by a combined 12 points. South Carolina is No. 90 in the NCAA NET rankings.   No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC): The Vols’ next three games are No. 9 Kentucky, No. 5 Florida and No. 22 Missouri. The Vols are No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings.   Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC): After getting blown out by 24 to No. 5 Florida, the Longhorns bounced back with wins over No. 22 Missouri and No. 13 Texas A&M. Texas is No. 32 in the NCAA NET rankings. No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC): The Aggies blew a 22-point lead Saturday when Texas came from behind to score the upset. In the last six minutes the Aggies were outscored 18-5. Texas A&M is No. 12 in the NCAA NET rankings.   Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC): Vanderbilt outscored Kentucky 8-2 in the final 3:19 to upset Kentucky, 74-69. Vanderbilt is No. 37 in the NCAA NET rankings.   Tuesday’s games No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) at No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) at Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC) No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC)   Saturday’s games No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC) Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC) at No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) No. 22 Missouri (16-5, 5-2 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC)

Walter Clayton Jr. sizes up his opponent (Gator Bait Photo by UAA) What Florida did to Georgia Saturday afternoon at the O-Dome is the result of what head coach Todd Golden calls “mentality and approach.” To Golden, Florida’s 89-59 win over Georgia was the perfect example of what the Gators are capable of doing when they get their offense and defense going at a very high level at the same time.   For all practical purposes, this game could have been mercifully called long before halftime. Shrugging off four quick whistle touch fouls, the 5th-ranked Gators (18-2, 5-2 SEC) launched into an all-out assault that kicked the Bulldogs into the tall grass on the side of the road. The Gators had their first 10-point lead (21-11) with 12:54 left in the half when Alex Condon completed a 3-point play with a free throw.  It was 17 (30-13) on a Will Richard 3-pointer with 9:26 to go. A pair of Walter Clayton Jr. free throws gave the Gators their first 20-point lead (40-20) with 4:41 remaining. A steal by Clayton that led to a dunk finish by Alijah Martin with 1:14 left gave the Gators a 51-24 lead.   In between that flurry of activity, the Gators hit 18 of 27 shots from the field, 7-14 from the 3-point line and 8-9 from the foul line. Eleven Florida steals led to 24 points off Georgia turnovers. Clayton (5 steals) and Martin (3) were so active that Georgia struggled to get the ball past halfcourt. The Gators had 20 deflections in the first half, which Golden said were “a number that we have not gotten close to for a long time.”   While his active hands helped make Georgia positively miserable, Martin was in a first half shooter’s coma. He hit 7-8 from the field, his only miss a 3-pointer (he had two). Richard, the hero of Florida’s come-from-behind win over South Carolina back on Wednesday, picked up where he left off with 13 first half points on 4-6 shooting that included 3-5 from the 3-point line. Clayton scored only seven in the first half. He was content to lead Florida’s defensive effort and down at the offensive end, he was good for four assists.   “When we shoot the ball well to start the game like that and our defensive activity is the way it is, we’re not going to be beat in here [the O-Dome] is the bottom line,” Golden said. “But you’re not always gonna start the game going 10 for 12 from the field or whatever it was and make every shot, but we had great momentum and again, I thought the crowd gave us a big lift today.”   Georgia didn’t pack it in at halftime, but chose to fight back in the second half. Unlike last year when Georgia erased a 21-point deficit to send their game with Florida at the O-Dome into overtime, the best the Bulldogs could do was chip the lead down to 19 (55-36) with 15:49 to go in the game. At that point, Clayton took the game over. During a two-minute stretch he put the ball on the deck, drove to the rack and finished three straight times and there was absolutely nothing Georgia could do about it. It was 63-37 at that point, order restored on the court and there was still 12:15 left in the game.   Clayton finished the game with 17 points, three rebounds, five assists (just one turnover) and five steals. In so many respects, Clayton made it look easy. Nothing was forced. Anything he wanted to do, he did.   “ He does a great job of playing with good pace and patience,” Golden said. “I don’t want to say it comes easy to him, but a little bit. He sees things other guys don’t and is able to get to his spots. I think he played with great poise. I thought his floor game was fantastic: five assists, one turnover, passed up a couple shots that he turned into assists for other guys or some two-point field goals. But he’s being discussed as an All-American for a reason. He deserves that conversation, one of the best guards in America and continues to deliver for us in big moments.”   Martin finished the game with 17 points, two rebounds, three assists and four steals. Richard finished with 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Off the bench Denzel Aberdeen had seven points, one rebound and two assists.   Those totals are similar to the ones Florida’s backcourt foursome put up in the South Carolina win. Unlike the South Carolina game, however, the Gators got plenty of help from their frontcourt mates. Condon had 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Tommy Haugh had a double-double, 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with a blocked shot and a steal. Chinyelu only scored one point but he had six rebounds, an assist and two steals. Sam Alexis scored two, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot.   Florida’s big guys combined to put the clamps on Georgia stud freshman Asa Newell, who is being discussed as an NBA lottery pick. Newell went 4-14 from the field including 0-5 from the 3-point line. He had six rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. All told, Georgia shot 21-59 from the field overall (35.6 percent) and 5-21 from the 3-point line after getting off to a 5-6 start.   The Gators countered Georgia’s rotten shooting game with a 34-64 day from the field overall (53.1 percent) and 34.6 percent (9-26 from the 3-point line. The Gators had 19 assists, their best game since they got 19 against Stetson back in December. The Gators outrebounded the Gamecocks, 39-32. They were outrebounded by South Carolina back on Wednesday night.   If the Gators can sustain playing at this level, they will be one of the most difficult teams to handle once March and the NCAA Tournament arrive. Currently, Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Gators as a No. 2 team in his latest bracketology.   What could make the Gators downright scary is if Micah Handlogten elects to play. Handlogten, who suffered an horrendous broken leg in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament last March, was determined to take a redshirt for the 2025 season, but since being cleared to work out with the team and do some individual work, Handlogten has been torn with the decision to get into the portal or continue to bigger and stronger during the redshirt year.   Handlogten was cleared to play against Georgia but he changed his mind prior to the game. At this point it is unclear whether Handlogten will elect to play starting in February or keep his redshirt going.   “ As of this moment, I would say he’s probably out,” Golden said. “But he could wake up tomorrow and call me and say, ‘Hey man, that looked fun. Maybe let’s get out there next Saturday.’ But we’re gonna let him create his own timeline for returning. Whether that’s next week or next year is really gonna be up to him.”  Handlogten has been practicing full contact with the team in recent weeks. Friday afternoon he practiced but between Friday practice and Saturday afternoon he was unsure what to do. “ I think he had kind of gotten himself to the point where he was ready,” Golden said. “He actually had a great practice yesterday, and you know as he continued to think about it he just had some second thoughts and the bottom line is with a situation like that you have to be all the way in if you’re gonna come back, and he understood. He knows, we weren’t pressuring him into this decision this was something we told him, this was up to him, when he wants to come back. I think he was really excited about the possibility of playing and then once it became real, I think he just had some more thoughts about it, and it is what it is, we would love to have him out there but at the same time we understand the injury was really severe and it’s gonna be his decision on when he comes back.” SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s scores No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC) 89, Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) 59 No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) 53, No. 6. Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) 51 No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) 80, LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC) 73 Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) 74, No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) 69 Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) 70, No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) 69 No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) 65, South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) 60, OT No. 22 Missouri (16-4, 5-2 SEC) 83, No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC) Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) 65, Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC) 62   Tuesday’s games No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) at No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) at Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC) No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC)   Saturday, February 1 games No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC) Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC) at No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) No. 22 Missouri (16-5, 5-2 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC)

Since abruptly leaving Florida for the head coaching job at Georgia, Mike White has done a rather impressive job in his rebuild of the program in Athens. The Bulldogs have been competitive the first two years (36-33 record), but now in year three, White has Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC) playing like a team that has a legitimate shot at the NCAA Tournament.   Five days after White left Florida for Georgia, the Gators hired Todd Golden from San Francisco. Golden went 16-17 in year one, 24-12 last year when the Gators made the NCAA Tournament. In year three, Golden has the Gators (17-2, 4-2 SEC) ranked 5th nationally and looking like a team that could make the Final Four. The Gators are No. 6 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 5 in the kenpom.com analytics.   When White left Florida he had beaten Georgia six straight times. He’s 0-5 against Florida since taking the Georgia job.   Florida’s 11-game win streak over Georgia as well as Golden’s 5-0 record against Mike White will be on the line today when the Bulldogs face the Gators at the O-Dome (3:30 p.m., SEC Network). Golden doesn’t exactly pay attention to streaks and personal records, but he knows the importance of taking out Georgia today. Momentum in the Southeastern Conference is incredibly important. The last thing the Gators need is to go into a midweek bye on the heels of a loss, particularly with their showdown game with 6th-ranked Tennessee next Saturday in Knoxville.   Florida brings a 2-game winning streak into today’s game. Since their 1-point loss to Missouri, the Gators have blown out Texas (84-60) at the O-Dome and pulled off a miracle rally to get a 1-point win (70-69) over South Carolina in Columbia. Against Texas, the Gators dominated the paint (44 points) and the backboards (41-33 margin). Against South Carolina, the Gators got only nine points from their big man rotation and UF was outrebounded 36-31. To beat South Carolina, Will Richard had his best game of the season, scoring the winning basket on a drive to the rack with 4.8 seconds left. Richard finished with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and three steals. Walter Clayton had 16 points and seven assists while Alijah Martin had 14 points and three steals.   Georgia, meanwhile, has lost three straight games since they cracked the Associated Press top 25. Ever since they were ranked No. 23, the Bulldogs have lost by 18 at No. 6 Tennessee (74-56), dropped a 70-68 white knuckler to No. 1 Auburn and lost to Arkansas 68-65.   Both the Gators and Bulldogs play a tough, physical style of defense. The Gators are giving up 65.7 per game, while Georgia is giving up 65.3. Both the Gators and Bulldogs hold opponents to 28.1 percent from the 3-point line.   With all things being even on the defensive end, it will be imperative for the Gators to win the battle of the backboards. Florida is third nationally in rebounds per game (44.53) and fourth in offensive rebounds (15.21). Georgia, on the other hand, is 71st (38.21 per game) overall and 86th in offensive rebounds (12.05). In their Tuesday night loss to Arkansas, Georgia was outrebounded by 10, which allowed Arkansas to score 33 second chance points. Walter Clayton Jr. leads Florida in scoring at 17.8 per game (UAA Photo) Key for the Gators today will be neutralizing Georgia super freshman Asa Newell, a former 5-star recruit who averages 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.   Anticipated starting lineups No. 5 FLORIDA (17-2, 4-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)   Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC): Asa Newell (6-11, 220, FR); RJ Godfrey (6-8, 230, JR); Tyrin Lawrence (6-4, 200, GR); Blue Cain (6-5, 195, SO); Silas Demary (6-5, 195, SO)   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s games Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (17-2, 4-2 SEC) No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC) LSU (12-6, 1-4 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) No. 9 Kentucky (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) No. 13 Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2 SEC) at Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC) No. 14 Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-9, 0-6 SEC) No. 16 Ole Miss (15-4, 4-2 SEC) at No. 22 Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) Oklahoma (14-4, 1-4 SEC) at Arkansas (12-7, 1-5 SEC)

Selena Harris-Miranda finishes off her floor routine vs. Georgia (UAA Photo) On a night when the 3rd-ranked Gators wore a spectacular leotard that was actually designed at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grill in Gainesville and named after the Head Ball Coach, Florida gymnastics coach wore a commemorative Steve Spurrier No. 11 jersey for the Gators’ Southeastern Conference meet with 13th-ranked Georgia.   When Spurrier became Florida’s football coach in 1990, Georgia seemed to have a hex on the Gators, but over the next 12 years the Gators dominated the Bulldogs, winning 11 of 12 games. There was a time when Georgia used to dominate Florida in gymnastics, but no more. Picking up where Rhonda Faehn left off, Rowland has beaten Georgia eight out of 10 years.   Friday night at a sold out O-Dome, a crowd of 9,108 saw the Gators post the highest score in the nation so far, routing the Gymdogs, 198.125-196.825, Rowland’s sixth straight win over Georgia.   “Just have to truly thank Coach Spurrier for the support that he gives the Gators and especially women's athletics,” Rowland said. “He's been a huge supporter of gymnastics. He's one of the first people to reach out to me after a big win and congratulate me and just that alone just says a lot. He's committed, he's invested, and he truly cares. So really, really grateful for his support to the Gators.   “The leotard was pretty spectacular tonight. I would say not our norm, classic, kind of elegant leo, and it was very on point with the Gator brand and extremely exciting. It was designed in Spurrier's restaurant, so that is where the name came from, and we were just super grateful that he was able to be here with us tonight and have a little side of our video shoot and a release. He told me, he's like, ‘Well, Jenny, I've never had a leotard named after me.’ I said, ‘Coach, you know you’ve made it big when you get a leotard named after you. He and Jeri are both amazing people.”   Lighting up Georgia with the Spurrier leotard and jersey made the night special, but Rowland might savor this one more than some of the other wins over Georgia because she had no idea who on her roster would be available after a week in which the flu bug made practice an adventure.   “So extremely proud of this team,” Rowland said. “It was a rough week, I could say a little bit. We had a lot of under the weather athletes. Throughout the week, several missed a day here or two there. And, you know, at the same time, it's coming back. It's trusting your training. Everybody has been prepared. They've done what they needed to this fall in order to come out, even though they may have missed a practice or two, to come out and just trust their training. So extremely proud of the confidence, of the resilience, of the unknown, the uncertainty of them being able to step up and be ready. We didn't even call lineups last night. The message was if you train an event, be ready to warm up an event because we didn't know who was going to feel well enough to compete.”   Among the almost casualties who toughed it out Friday night were Selena Harris-Miranda, whose 39.625 all-around total was a season high and her second straight all-around win. Sloane Blakely, who  who missed one day, finished second in the all-around with a 39.620. Anya Pilgrim, who didn’t miss a day, finished third at 39.55.   The Gators won all four events, posting nation’s best scores on the vault (49.55) and balance beam (49.675). The Gators scored 49.40 on the uneven bars and 49.50 on floor.   Harris-Miranda got a jolt of confidence when she finished off the vault rotation with a 9.95. Freshman Ly Bui and Leanne Wong both scored 9.925 and Sloane Blakely came in at 9.90.   What Harris-Miranda did to maintain her focus was to keep reminding herself to trust her training.   “I was sick for two days,” Harris-Miranda said. “I didn't go to practice. So I think the whole day today, I was just like, you've done this before. You've done this before. Just do it.”    On the bars, freshman Skye Blakely and Pilgrim both scored 9.90 to tie Georgia’s Ady Wahl for the event title. Blakely, still on the mend from an injury that kept her from competing at the Paris Olympics, got her first event win as a Gator.   On the balance beam, Sloane Blakely, Victoria Nguyen and Pilgrim all scored 9.95 while Harris-Miranda had a 9.925 and Skylar Draser led off with a 9.90.   The Gators scored 49.50 on floor for the second straight week with Sloane Blakely and Wong winning the title with 9.925. Harris and freshman Taylor Clark came in at 9.90.   SEC GYMNASTICS Friday night scores No. 3 FLORIDA (4-1, 1-1 SEC) 198.125, No. 13 Georgia (2-3, 0-1 SEC) 196.825 No. 1 Oklahoma (8-0, 2-0 SEC) 197.550, No. 10 Alabama (1-2, 0-2 SEC), 196.300 No. 17 Arkansas (3-4, 1-1 SEC) 196.875, No. 2 LSU (4-2, 1-1 SEC) 196.600 No. 12 Auburn (8-1) 197.025, No. 9 Oregon State (3-2) 196.975   Sunday’s meets No. 6 Kentucky (3-1, 0-1 SEC) at No. 11 Missouri (5-2, 0-1 SEC)

Will Richard (5) hits the game-winning shot against South Carolina (UAA Photo) Florida’s highly improbable come from behind win over South Carolina will be remembered for Will Richard’s drive down the left side of the lane in which he finished with a lefty bank high off the glass that put the Gators up, 70-69, with 4.8 seconds showing on the clock.   Perhaps unnoticed is the smartest play Alex Condon made on a night when he had one of the least productive games he’s had in recent weeks. Trailing 69-68 and the clock winding down, Richard popped out beyond the 3-point line where he took a pass from Walter Clayton Jr. over on the left wing. South Carolina’s Morris Ugusuk hesitated before rushing out to defend Richard, first ensuring Richard didn’t dump the ball down to Condon, who had a 3-inch height advantage on Collin Murray-Boyles. Richard squared up to the basket, then faked a pass to Tommy Haugh on the right wing, which caused Ugusuk to cross his legs. That was all the opening Richard needed.   Three bounces and Richard elevated. Condon got enough of a hip into Murray-Boyles that gave Richard just enough space to flip a shot off the glass with his left hand. Without Condon’s hip, Murray-Boyles might have gotten a piece of the ball. After all, he had already blocked three shots, but not this one. Not the one he desperately needed to reject for South Carolina (10-9, 0-6 SEC) to get its first Southeastern Conference win of the season.   Florida, ahead for the only time the entire game with 4.8 seconds left, 70. South Carolina, ahead for 39:55.2 but behind when it counted the most, 69.   The Gamecocks still had time to attempt a game-winner, but Jacobi Wright’s 30-footer as the horn sounded was straight out of Florida State football lore.   Wide right.   “I was just trying to be aggressive,” Richard said after his game-winner helped the Gators earn a most unlikely 70-69 win. “I knew we were down one. The play was to get me a little slip three or get Walt a layup, but I saw the [defender] close out a little hard and I went. Condon did a great job of ducking, and I just had to do a great job of finishing it.”    It is the little things that matter most when teams score improbable wins, and this one was about as improbable as any Florida win this season. The 5th-ranked Gators (17-2, 4-2 SEC) played their worst half of basketball all season, in large part because South Carolina played perhaps its best half of the season. Florida trailed by as many as 10 before going into the halftime locker down 36-29.   The deficit in the first 20 minutes had everything to do with the Gators inability to muster any kind of defense in the paint. Murray-Boyles was near perfect on the inside. When the Gators collapsed to help out the big guys, Murray-Boyles passed to open shooters who seemed to be on radar lock. Murray-Boyles scored 11 first half points to go with five assists that accounted for another 10. South Carolina scored 20 points in the paint, many of the wide open variety against a Florida defense that over-shifted.   There was a measure of first half hangover in the first 7:14 of the second half when South Carolina stretched its lead to 14, 52-38, when Zachary Davis drilled a 3-pointer.   “We came out at halftime down seven and thought we were playing better in the second half, but we were not making many shots,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We missed some that we normally make. I thought their physicality around the rim really, really bothered us. And even though we were playing better, the deficit was going the wrong way for us.”   It was 58-45 after a Davis dunk with 8:49 to go, but that’s when the Gators went to a full court press that began bothering the Gamecocks, allowing the game to begin turning in Florida’s favor. It started with 8:22 left when Haugh tipped in his own miss. A steal by Denzel Aberdeen led to a pass to Clayton who pushed it ahead to Richard for a layup that made it a 9-point game (58-49) with 8:08 to go.   Richard converted a steal into another layup that brought the Gators back within seven with 7:56 left (58-51). At the 7:03 mark, Richard made one of two free throws to bring Florida back within six (58-52), the closest it had been since it was 32-27 with 1:45 left in the first half.   After the trade of 3-pointers, Ugusuk for the Gamecocks, Martin for the Gators with 6:11 to go, Florida’s defensive intensity ratcheted up another level. Florida forced five turnovers in the final 5:01 which contributed to South Carolina managing only eight points the rest of the way.   Two free throws by Clayton cut the South Carolina lead to 61-57. After a Murray-Boyles free throw, Martin scored on a driving layup and drew the foul after an offensive rebound by Haugh. His free throw cut the South Carolina lead to 62-60.   The Gamecocks still had a couple of big shots left in them, one a Ugusuk 3-ball that put them up by five with 3:14 left and another by Davis with 1:16 to go for a 68-63 margin. Florida countered the Ugusuk three with one by Clayton on a pull-up on a fast break after a Condon steal. Richard also countered with a three of his own with 1:06 left to bring it back to 68-66.   Martin was fouled after a steal with 52 seconds to go. His free throws tied the score at 68-68.   Davis, who finished the game with a season-high 22 points, was fouled with 17 seconds left. He missed his first free throw, nailed the second, setting up the Gators for the dramatic finish.     Golden credited the win to mature players who never panicked and who were willing to play the game one possession at a time.   “ We just talked about one possession at a time,” Golden said. “We’re not going to get back in this game playing hero ball. We’re not going to get back in this game gambling and allowing them to get layups and dunks. The big thing that I thought we were able to do was, obviously bother them with the full-court press, but if they did break it we only gave up one or two cheap baskets out of it. We were able to get back and get our defense set and force them into some tougher possessions.”   This was not a night for Condon and his front court mates. The Gamecocks were the most physical team for most of the game. For only the fourth time all season, the Gators were outrebounded 36-31. Florida’s front court of Condon, Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Sam Alexis combined for nine points, 19 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.   It was the four perimeter guys who were the difference makers.   Richard led the Gators with 22 points, four rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals. He hit 9-14 from the field overall and 3-5 from the 3-point line. His 22 points gave him an even 1,000 points for his three years in a Florida uniform.   Clayton scored 16 to go with four rebounds, seven assists and a steal. He hit 2-5 from the 3-point line. Clayton broke a tie with Michael Frazier II for the all-time Florida school record for most consecutive games with a 3-pointer (42 games).   Martin gave the Gators 14 points, two rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and three steals. Aberdeen scored nine off the bench to go with an assist and two steals.   “Listen, all three of those guys – Walt, Will and A-Mart – are gamers,” Golden said. “Those guys are confident dudes. They all want the ball in their own hands in big moments, and they’re not afraid to take the big shot. Will’s hammer three was huge, and then A-Mart’s and-one was huge. Walt made some great plays tonight, had seven assists, 16 points, four rebounds. It’s a luxury to have those three guys in the backcourt, and then Denzel I thought gave us some big minutes off the bench, had some steals in the second half [with] some offense created off that. But they’re very good players, and they stepped up in a game that we didn’t have our best.”   Certainly, it wasn’t Florida’s best game of the year, but the sloppy wins that are a struggle from bell to bell count the same as the beautiful wins in which everything goes right. And, it was a road win in an SEC where every road victory should be savored.   The Gators return home to the O-Dome Saturday to face Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC), a 68-65 loser to Arkansas (12-7, 1-5 SEC).   Game notes: The Gators outscored the Gamecocks 22-0 on fast break points, all of them off South Carolina turnovers. The Gators had 13 steals, their most in a game this season … The Gators hit only 28-66 shots from the field (42.4 percent) and 8-24 from the 3-point line … South Carolina made 28-57 from the field (49.1 percent) and 9-26 from the 3-point line (34.6 percent) … At 17-2, the Gators matched the best start through 19 games in school history. The last time was the 2013-14 season in which UF won the SEC championship and made it to the Final Four.   SEC BASKETBALL Wednesday’s scores No. 5 FLORIDA (17-2, 4-2 SEC) 70, South Carolina (10-9, 0-6 SEC) 69 No. 13 Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2 SEC) 63, No. 16 Ole Miss (15-4, 4-2 SEC) 62 Arkansas (12-7, 1-5 SEC) 68, Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC) 64   Saturday’s games Georgia (14-5, 2-4 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (17-2, 4-2 SEC) No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC) LSU (12-6, 1-4 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) No. 8 Kentucky (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) No. 11 Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2 SEC) at Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC) No. 15 Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-9, 0-6 SEC) No. 21 Ole Miss (15-4, 4-2 SEC) at Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) Oklahoma (14-4, 1-4 SEC) at Arkansas (12-7, 1-5 SEC)

Jadan Baugh (13) is a reason why the Gators will contend in 2025 (Photo by Chris Spears) The 2024 college football season is in the books with the Ohio State Buckeyes crowned as champions, the second consecutive year a Big Ten team has won the national championship. The expanded College Football Playoff benefitted Ohio State, which became only the second team (LSU 2007 was the first) in the Associated Press top 25 poll era to win the national championship with two losses.   Southeastern Conference fans will be hearing Big Ten superiority at least for another year, at which time perhaps an SEC team can make a successful national championship run. This is not the end of the world although you would find it difficult to talk to a rational Alabama or Georgia fan. Bama hasn’t won a national championship since 2020 and Georgia, despite expectations that it would at least make the national championship game in each of the last two years, has rolled snake eyes since going back-to-back in 2021-22.   Not only was the 2024 season the first for an expanded CFP, but it was also the first for a 16-team Southeastern Conference. Going through an SEC schedule unscathed was already one of the tougher feats in all of college football, but the additions of Texas and Oklahoma only made things more difficult. Georgia became the first SEC champion since 2007 LSU to win the SEC title with two losses. Texas and Tennessee each had two losses, but both made the playoff. Alabama lost three games in the regular season and finished with four losses, its first season with fewer than 10 wins and four losses since Nick Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa in 2007. Ole Miss, when healthy, was probably the best team in the country, yet the Rebels lost three times. At the end of the regular season South Carolina was on a 6-game winning tear but three losses in the first half of the season doomed the Gamecocks’ CFP chances.   Any way you slice it, this was a down year for the Southeastern Conference. We can theorize that expansion to 16 teams has had the effect of weakening the league’s chances of winning another national title. We can theorize that because of the transfer portal, players who used to give the SEC next man up quality depth have moved on to become starters somewhere else. We can also theorize that it was a down year for SEC quarterbacks. When the season began Carson Beck (Georgia), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Quinn Ewers were all projected as No. 1 draft picks. Beck has transferred to Miami. As for Milroe and Ewers, if either one is drafted first two rounds it might be a major surprise.   There was plenty of talent in the SEC. No doubt about that, but it wasn’t concentrated on the Georgia and Alabama rosters like before and that might not be a bad thing. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, there is reason to believe some of the teams at or near the top might not be among the usual suspects.   Based on rosters as they are January 21, here is a too early look at the SEC for 2025: 1. Texas: The long-awaited Arch Manning era will begin. Does Archie’s grandson live up to the hype? Can Steve Sarkisian (a) put an offensive line together so that the Longhorns can (b) run the football with any consistency? The defense returns a lot of moving pieces and that will carry the Longhorns.   2. Georgia: Can Georgia win a national championship with Gunner Stockton at quarterback? Probably not unless Kirby Smart puts together a beastly offensive line and a smash mouth offensive approach to take advantage of Nate Frazier. The defense has to be better than it was in 2024 but Kirby has a ton of former 4-star and 5-star recruits who will be on the field. Shaky pick at No. 2. 3. FLORIDA: Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The Gators have one of the two best quarterbacks in the league -- and perhaps the entire country -- in DJ Lagway to go with stud running backs like Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson, an offensive line led by first team All-America center Jake Slaughter and left tackle Austin Barber, plus a defense that turned the corner in November, got after quarterbacks and turned opponents over.     4. South Carolina: Shane Beamer has a legit quarterback in LaNorris Sellers and a stud running back from the portal in Rahsul Faison, who gained 1,198 yards at Utah State. If the Gamecocks can find some explosiveness at wide receiver the offense will be dynamic. The defense will be solid, led by pass rusher Dylan Stewart and safety Jalon Kilgore.     5.Alabama: Kalen DeBoer has explosive talent on the outside in wide receivers Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard, but unless the second year coach can find someone who can get the ball to them, the offense could be very, very average. Jalen Milroe has gone to the NFL and right now the only replacement is Ty Simpson. He doesn’t scare anyone. The defense will have to carry the Tide or else it will be a very long year by Bama standards.   6. LSU: Brian Kelly has a quarterback who can fling it in Garrett Nussmeier and he added a serious deep threat from the portal in former Kentucky wide receiver Barion Brown. The Tigers still can’t run the football and they have to rebuild an offensive line that was exposed by Florida (six sacks allowed for -44 yards). Defense has never been the strong suit for LSU since Kelly became the head coach. LSU will have to outscore people. Again.   7. Tennessee: Nico Iamaleava is a very good quarterback, but $8 million good? There is a lack of speed on the outside and no running back capable of filling Dylan Sampson’s shoes. Not only that, four-fifths of the offensive line is gone. Is the defense good enough to buy time for Josh Heupel to find playmakers? It better be.   8. Oklahoma: Brent Venables came up with the coup of the transfer portal in Washington State’s John Mateer, the best available quarterback. He is the cure or an anemic offense. The defense is going to be much improved. 9. Ole Miss: The revolving door continues in Oxford. Out with a slew of former transfers, in with their replacements from the portal. Lane Kiffin teams will always score points and Austin Simmons will be the right triggerman. Finding replacements for Chris Paul, Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen on defense will be the big issue. 10. Texas A&M: The Aggies went heavy into the portal to replace outgoing defenders. How well Mike Elko can turn them into a functional unit will determine 2025. Marcel Reed is a legit dual threat QB but he will be without electric wide receiver Noah Thomas, who transferred to Georgia. 11. Vanderbilt: The Commodores won seven games in large part because Diego Pavia is a QB who inspires teammates to play out of their minds. Clark Lea went heavy into the portal to load up on both lines of scrimmage. If the Commodores can run the football, they’ll win seven or eight in the fall. 12. Missouri: Eli Drinkwitz landed Penn State backup QB Beau Pribula in the portal. Now all Eli has to do is find some receivers and running backs. He needs a front seven too. Missouri will benefit from the easiest schedule in the SEC. 13. Auburn: Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold will duke it out for the starting QB job. Either one should be an upgrade from Peyton Thorne. Hugh Freeze brought in an electric wide receiver in Eric Singleton from Georgia Tech. If the defense comes through Auburn will be the surprise team in the SEC. 14. Arkansas: The Hogs have a QB in Taylen Green and they went a season without HBC Sam Pittman divorcing OC Bobby Petrino. What they don’t have are playmakers on the outside and experience on the back end of the defense. They will have to win games in shootout fashion. 15. Kentucky: Wasn’t it only August when everyone was proclaiming Mark Stoops as one of the top ten coaches in the country? Funny what a 4-8 record will do for you. Now the QB the Wildcats banked the future on -- Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff -- has retired from football and Gavin Wimsatt, who had 17 starts at QB at Rutgers prior to Kentucky, is in the portal again. The two stud wide receivers (Barion Brown and Dane Key) have transferred and their two best defensive players (NT Deone Walker and LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson) have declared for the NFL. Long, long season in the forecast. 16. Mississippi State: Now that Vanderbilt has gone respectable, someone has to be the SEC’s favorite homecoming opponent. The Bulldogs went 2-10 last year. With some luck they could win four this year.

Alijah Martin hears it from the Florida crowd (UAA Photo) Although this is his first run through the ever tough Southeastern Conference, what’s at stake every single night for 5th-ranked Florida (16-2, 3-2 SEC) isn’t lost on Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin. Even though South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC) is winless in SEC play, Martin knows the crowd at Colonial Life Arena will be ready to blow the roof off its hinges to help the Gamecocks get their first conference victory.   “ They are going to be super desperate,” Martin said Monday before the Gators left for the airport to fly to Columbia. “Obviously, it's going to be a sold out show. Everyone wants to see Gatorball, so it's going to be tough. We gotta lock in. They'll be fired up. They really want one, and, of course, Florida's coming to town and teams want that even more.”   South Carolina is 0-5 in the SEC, but the Gamecocks are much better than their record and they are a real challenge at home. In December, South Carolina upended then 25th-ranked Clemson 91-88 in overtime. Last week, the Gamecocks had No. 1 Auburn on the ropes before falling, 66-63.   Just a week ago, then unranked Missouri came to the O-Dome, built up a 19-point lead and held on for dear life for an 83-82 win. That game serves as a reminder to Martin and his teammates that you can’t judge an SEC opponent by its record. Every SEC opponent is a tough matchup. ” The Missouri game proves that,” Martin said. “They showed it to us, too. They came out on it. They came out and punched us right in the mouth, but I think we learned a lesson going forward. We learned how to adjust and how to fight back.”   Florida bounced back from the loss to Missouri with an 84-60 blowout win over Texas. That same Texas team beat Missouri in a very physical, hand-to-hand combat kind of game in Austin Tuesday night.   Florida coach Todd Golden knows the Gators should be ready to play a tough team from the opening whistle for 40 full minutes.   “That was lesson we learned last Tuesday against Missouri,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “They were a very, very good team that wasn’t ranked at the time, but has since been ranked and is playing like one of the top 25 teams in the country. Obviously, South Carolina has not won yet, but still, they’re a very tough team. They beat Clemson at home this year. They have guys who know how to win. Obviously, they had a lot of success last year. So we have to go into this game with same mentality we had Saturday, when I thought we were the mentally and physically more tougher team. We cannot go out there and expect to just play a game for 40 minutes and come out victorious. They’re going to be geared up and ready to go. I think them beating us at their place last year will give them some confidence, and we’ll have to go up there and be really competitive.”    Game notes: Martin comes into the game averaging 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game ... Leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. (17.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists) can break the school record for most consecutive games with at least one made 3-point shot. Currently, Clayton is tied with Michael Frazier II with a 41-game streak ... Will Richard, who played his freshman year at Belmont, needs 22 points for 1,000 in a Florida uniform. Clayton spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Iona. He is 45 points away from 1,000 in a Florida uniform ... Alex Condon is averaging a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in Southeastern Conference games ... The Gators, who are No. 5 in the NCAA NET rankings, lead the country in rebounds (45.28 per game). The Gators are sixth in offensive rebounds (15.22 per game) ... The Gators are fifth nationally in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to hit just 27.7 percent of their shots ... Florida scores 85.9 points per game (8th nationally) while allowing 65.6 per game.   Anticipated starting lineups No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, S); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)   South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC): Collin Murray-Boyles (6-8, 245, SO); Nick Pringle (6-10, 220, SR); Zachary Davis (6-7, 200, JR); Morris Ugusuk (6-4, 170, SO); Jacobi Wright (6-2, 185, SR)   SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s scores No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) 103, Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) 87 No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) 68, Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) 56 Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC) 61, No. 22 Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) 53   Wednesday’s games No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC) at South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC) No. 11 Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at No. 21 Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1 SEC) No. 23 Georgia (14-4, 2-3 SEC) at Arkansas (11-7, 0-5 SEC)   Saturday’s games No. 23 Georgia (14-4, 2-3 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC) No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC) LSU (12-6, 1-4 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) No. 8 Kentucky (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) No. 11 Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC) No. 15 Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC) No. 21 Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1 SEC) at Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) Oklahoma (14-4, 1-4 SEC) at Arkansas (11-7, 0-5 SEC)   Coaches top 25: 1. Auburn 17-1; 2. Duke 16-2; 3. Alabama (15-3; 4. Iowa State 15-2; 5. Houston 14-3; 6. FLORIDA 16-2; 7. Tennessee 16-2; 8. Michigan State 16-2; 9. Kentucky 14-4; 10. Marquette 15-3; 11. Kansas 13-4; 12. Purdue 15-4; 13. Texas A&M 14-4; 14. Mississippi State 15-3; 15. Oregon 15-3; 16. Ole Miss 15-3; 17. Illinois 13-5; 18. UConn 13-5; 19. Wisconsin 15-3; 20. Michigan 14-4; 21. St. John’s 16-3; 22. Memphis 14-4; 23. West Virginia 13-4; 24. Missouri 15-3; 25. Texas Tech 13-4   Associated Press top 25: 1. Auburn 17-1; 2. Duke 16-2; 3. Iowa State 15-2; 4. Alabama 15-3; 5. FLORIDA 16-2; 6. Tennessee 16-2; 7. Houston 14-3; 8. Michigan State 16-2; 9. Kentucky 14-4; 10. Marquette 15-3; 11. Purdue 15-4; 12. Kansas 13-4; 13. Texas A&M 14-4; 14. Mississippi State 15-3; 15. Oregon 15-3; 16. Ole Miss 15-3; 17. Illinois 13-5; 18. Wisconsin 15-3; 19. UConn 13-5; 20. St. John’s 16-3; 21. Michigan 14-4; 22. Missouri 15-3; 23. West Virginia 13-4; 24. Memphis 14-4; 25. Louisville 14-5