Back in the 1960s, a tobacco company ran an ad scheme with the theme “you’ve come a long way, baby!” Sixty-plus years later, the Southeastern Conference could use the same slogan about how the league has become an historically powerful basketball conference.     Back in March of 2009, Matt Hayes, who was the national writer for a major online magazine, and I were in Tampa at the SEC Tournament discussing how many SEC teams would be invited to the NCAA field of 64 teams. I guessed four -- regular season champ LSU, Tennessee, Florida and either Auburn or South Carolina. Matt guessed three -- LSU, Tennessee and one other. South Carolina’s opportunity ended by losing to bottom feeder Georgia in the first round. Florida’s chances diminished severely when Gators lost their second round game to Auburn. Tennessee took care of Auburn in the semifinals. Mississippi State, which no one expected, got the automatic bid by winning the tournament.   When the NCAA chose its teams it picked LSU as a No. 8, Tennessee as a No. 9 and Mississippi State as a No. 13.   It’s worth bringing up the 2008-09 season because here we are in 2025 with Joe Lunardi of ESPN projecting the SEC to land a record 13 teams in the NCAA field. Here is how Lunardi breaks it down:   No. 1 seeds: Auburn (South); Tennessee (Midwest) No. 2 seeds: FLORIDA (South); Kentucky (West); Alabama (East) No. 3 seed: Texas A&M (Midwest) No. 4 seed: Mississippi State (West) No. 7 seeds: Oklahoma (West); Ole Miss (Midwest) No. 9 seeds: Georgia (West); Arkansas (East) No. 11 seeds: Texas (West); Vanderbilt (East)   That is five SEC teams among the top eight teams, six among the top 12 and seven among the top 16.   I believe there are four SEC teams with a legitimate shot at the Final Four: Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama. I don’t see Kentucky as a Final Four team because I don’t think the Wildcats have the defense nor do I think they have enough inside depth.   As for the Southeastern Conference, I believe there isn’t a team in the SEC that can make it through the league schedule with fewer than three losses. I think it is likely that the SEC regular season champ will have either a 14-4 or 13-5 record in league play. Any SEC team that is 10-8 or better in league play will be seeded six or above. The NCAA doesn’t like taking teams that finish with a sub-.500 record in league play but the SEC is so strong that this year will be an exception.   OBSERVATIONS OF THE GATORS SO FAR The way the Gators dominated Tennessee Tuesday night opened a lot of eyes. Everybody knew the Gators have plenty of firepower and great rebounding. What nobody expected was such defensive intensity. There has been consensus that the Gators are a vastly improved defensive team, but there is improved and there is what the Gators did to Tennessee. Ten minutes into the game the Gators had already turned Tennessee into an indecisive, lead-footed bunch that couldn’t find the ocean from the end of the pier when it came to shooting the basketball.   Florida’s intensity and athleticism was on full display. The Gators rendered Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier, the SEC’s leading scorer, and Zakai Ziegler, one of the nation’s leaders in assists, useless. Lanier was a head case by halftime. He finished the game with 10 points, but 3-16 shooting overall and 1-9 from the 3-point line. Ziegler couldn’t get into the lane, which turned the Vols into a perimeter team that couldn’t get off clean shots. He finished with one assist and compounded that issue with a 1-6 night from the 3-point line. Then came the backboards where the Gators outrebounded the Vols by 18. Florida grabbed 55 rebounds -- 55. Not only does that not happen to the Tennessee Vols, that doesn’t happen in the SEC, but Florida did it.   One reason this Florida team has the potential to be so special is their ability to spread the wealth. Tennessee did a rather good job of neutralizing Walter Clayton Jr. as a scorer, holding him to seven points. No scoring from Walter? No problem. Denzel Aberdeen and Alijah Martin picked up the slack on the outside and Alex Condon was the go to guy on offense on the inside. Take one guy out against this team and someone else picks up the slack. When everyone is on their offensive game, the Gators can score big on anyone.   When everyone is clicking on the offensive end of the floor and the defense is Tennessee intense there might not be a team in the country that can beat the Gators.   WILL RICHARD HAS BECOME AN ELITE DEFENDER: The message from Todd Golden to Richard in the offseason was devote yourself to doing the things other than scoring that affect winning. He’s always had that beautiful shot that is so lethal when he goes into one of those famous shooting comas when everything he throws up at the rim goes in. In his previous two seasons there were too many games that if the shot wasn’t going in, Richard’s effectiveness was severely limited.   This season, Richard has turned into a pit bull of a defender on the perimeter. Tuesday night we got a good example of Richard’s effectiveness as a defender. His assignment was Chaz Lanier, the leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference, averaging more than 20 points per game. Constantly dogged by Richard, Lanier went 3-16 from the field overall, 1-9 from the 3-point line. It was clear that Richard got into Lanier’s head and made him second guess himself because he became hesitant to launch on those rare occasions he had a truly open shot.   Richard’s transformation along with the addition of Alijah Martin gives the Gators two elite defenders on the perimiter.   DENZEL ABERDEEN COULD BE A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR IN THE SEC: When whistle-happy Ron Groover slapped Walter Clayton Jr. with a couple of touch fouls in the first 5:01 of the game Tuesday, Denzel Aberdeen made the seamless transition from first perimeter guy off the bench to dominant offensive player in the game. Just like that. He scored 10 points in the first half, finished with 16. Not only did he show he can direct the Florida offense and be a viable scoring option, he also applied the pressure to Zakai Ziegler, helping to turn the Tennessee offense very pedestrian.   There is a reason Todd Golden keeps praising Aberdeen. He’s like a Swiss Army Knife on the perimeter. You need scoring? He can score. Pass the ball? He knows how to set up his teammates. Defend? Just ask Zakai Ziegler. If the Gators finish in the top 2-3 of the SEC then follow that up with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, Denzel Aberdeen will have to play a very key role. He has to be consistent and he has to understand that he has to be the team amoeba -- constantly changing shape to fit whatever the Gators need to win the game.   THE GATORS HAVE A LEGITIMATE INTIMIDATOR: In the 1960s, the ever so weird but talented Frank Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention did a 50s parody album called “Ruben and the Jets.” In thinking up an appropriate nickname for the 4-headed monster that is Florida’s big guys, the name Rueben and the Jets came to mind. You have Rueben Chinyelu, who is a legitimate intimidator at 6-10 and a rock solid 255 pounds, 6-11 Alex Condon, 6-9 Thomas Haugh and 6-9 Sam Alexis. They are all four very talented and each adds something different, but Chinyelu is the key for a long run in March.   As we saw early on at Kentucky and then against Tennessee, Rueben Chinyelu has the ability to complete dominate a game on the defensive end. His block of an attempted dunk by Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier essentially ended the game. From that point on, the Gators completely owned the inside and Lanier was a head case the rest of the way. Rueben yanked down 15 rebounds and he made the paint a no fly zone.   Alex Condon is growing into a scorer who rebounds and defends. Thomas Haugh is a Swiss Army Knife who can defend several positions and knock down threes when he’s open. Sam Alexis is a beast on the offensive backboards and he’s also a shot blocker.   But it is Chinyelu who holds the key to the inside defense that can give the Gators what they need to be the last team standing in March. It’s sort of like the football defensive philosophy of taking away the run to make the other team one-dimensional. When you take away the inside game you force opponents to beat you with jump shots. Nearly every coach in the country likes the odds of winning games when the other team is one-dimensional.   SEC BASKETBALL Wednesday’s scores No. 5 Alabama (13-2, 2-0) 88, South Carolina (10-5, 0-2 SEC) 68 No. 10 Texas A&M (13-2, 2-0 SEC), No. 17 Oklahoma (13-2, 0-2 SEC) No. 23 Ole Miss (13-2, 2-0 SEC) 73, Arkansas (11-4, 0-2 SEC) 66   Saturday’s games No. 8 FLORIDA (14-1, 1-1 SEC) at Arkansas (11-4, 0-2 SEC) No. 1 Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) at Texas (11-4, 0-2 SEC) No. 2 Auburn (14-1, 2-0 SEC) at South Carolina (10-5, 0-2 SEC) No. 5 Alabama (13-2, 2-0 SEC) at No. 10 Texas A&M (13-2, 2-0 SEC) No. 6 Kentucky (12-3, 1-1 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (14-1, 2-0 SEC) No. 17 Oklahoma (13-2, 0-2 SEC) at Georgia (13-2, 1-1 SEC) LSU (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at No. 23 Ole Miss (13-2, 2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt (13-2, 1-1 SEC) at Missouri (12-3, 1-1 SEC)

Will Richard scores on a wraparound layup (UAA Photo) Chaz Lanier, the leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference, was already having the kind of game you only have in your worst nightmare when he saw an opportunity to shush the sold out crowd at the O-Dome while perhaps injecting some energy in No. 1 Tennessee.   The Vols were down 22-12 when Lanier sized up Thomas Haugh at the top of the key. Two quick dribbles and he was in the lane, elevating while cupping the ball behind his right ear. Rueben Chinyelu was all that stood in the way of a monstrous tomahawk jam.   The better part of valor would have been a pass to Felix Okparo, who Chinyelu had left standing on the low block when he slid two steps into the paint to challenge Lanier. That made too much good sense.   Lanier elected to try to overpower Chinyelu. Bad decision. Very bad decision.   Chinyelu wasn’t about to allow Lanier a Sports Center moment. Lanier elevated high. Chinyelu elevated higher. Lanier threw out his left hand as he tried to dunk over Chinyelu.   Chinyelu won, swatting the ball away while driving Lanier to the floor. Adding insult to psychological injury, the ball trickled down Lanier’s body and after a short bounce, ticked his head.   The ball rolled harmlessly out of bounds. Florida basketball. The hinges that secure the O-Dome roof to the outer walls felt the strain of 120 or so decibels. Tennessee was already rattled. The blocked shot had the effect of telling the Vols the gig was up. It was only a matter of time before the clock flatlined at zero and their 14-game win streak came to a merciful end.   “We lost our poise,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the Vols (14-1, 1-1 SEC) absorbed a 73-43 beatdown at the hands of 8th-ranked Florida (14-1, 1-1 SEC). Tennessee’s 30-point loss was the biggest by a No. 1-ranked team since the 1968 NCAA semifinal in which UCLA torched top-ranked Houston, 101-69.   This was Florida’s proof positive that what happened three days earlier in Lexington was a most embarrassing aberration. Against Kentucky the Gators played like the defensive game plan was supposed to arrive by air mail and the plane carrying all the matchups and tendencies was still circling Lexington three hours after the game ended. Kentucky stroked one three-ball after another into the net and the Wildcats did 44 points of damage in the paint.   The Gators came out with a far different mentality against Tennessee, fueled by an O-Dome capacity crowd of 11,011 with lines that began wrapping around the block early in the afternoon.   “ I think our fans have been fantastic supporting us,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “You know, as amazing as it was tonight, when you sell out a game like Stetson a couple weeks ago on a weekend of a break with no students around on a Sunday, I think it was ... I was like, man, like, alright, these fans really have our backs. You know they’ve done a great job supporting us all year, and we knew what tonight was going to be. We drove up for shootaround -- I think I got to the O’Dome at like 12:30 -- and the line was already around the block with people waiting to get into the gym. We knew it was going to be a great atmosphere tonight, and we knew we're going to get a lift from the crowd. Obviously, after Year 1, specifically last year and this year, this has become a great home-court advantage for us and one of the best in America.”     The crowd understood the significance of taking out Tennessee’s dynamic duo of Lanier and point guard Zakai Ziegler. Those two make the UT offense go but they never got into any kind of a rhythm because the Gators forced them to take shots they don’t normally take. The Gators reduced Lanier and Ziegler to non-factor status and with each stop,each missed shot, the decibel level of the crowd grew stronger.   Lanier came into the game averaging 20 a game, but he never got untracked. After the Chinyelu block it seemed obvious that Florida’s defensive pressure was in his head. He scored 10 but it took 16 shots and a dismal 1-9 from the 3-point line. A quick trigger shooter, he had been routinely bombing in the points against any team the Vols played. Tuesday night was different, however.   "We just kind of stayed in him, you know, we didn't want to give him no breathing room,” Florida’s Alijah Martin said. “We know he's an unbelievable talent, unbelievable shooter. Don't need no space, and that was the game plan. Just don’t give him no space, don't give nothing easy."   Ziegler also scored 10 but five of those came in the last five minutes with the Vols already 30 points under water. Ziegler, among the nation’s leaders in assists at 8.0 per game, got one and that was in the first half. The Gators did an exceptional job of preventing Ziegler to penetrate into the line where he flips up alley oop passes to the Tennessee big guys. Forced to spend the game shooting from the outside, Ziegler was 4-12 overall, 1-6 from the 3-point line.   The game plan wasn’t complicated, simply cut the head off the snake. In Tennessee’s case it is a 2-headed snake -- Ziegler and Lanier. Will Richard spent most of the game harassing Lanier. Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Denzel Aberdeen took turns neutralizing Ziegler, who gets the Vols into a good shooting rhythm. Ziegler was forced to deal from deep on the perimeter and was completely taken out of his game. He was averaging 8.0 assists per game. He got one against the Gators.   “We did a good job of keeping him out of the paint and allowing our bigs to get back to the body of Okpara,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “They tried to run a couple of those lobs and they ended up in turnovers, which was big for us.”   With Ziegler unable to set up Tennessee shooters and Lanier unable to throw it in the ocean from the end of the pier, the Vols went 12-56 from the floor overall and a dismal 4-29 from the 3-point line. At one point, Tennessee was 1-24 from the 3-point line.   Tennessee kept shooting and missing, which only fueled Florida’s rebounding advantage. The Gators dominated, winning the battle of the backboards 55-38 with Chinyelu grabbing 15 and Alex Condon 12. Although the Gators scored only 73 points, 15 below their per game average, the combination of defense and rebounding made that more than adequate. Florida shot just 41.9 (27-69) percent from the field overall, 6-20 from the 3-point line. The Gators grabbed 19 offensive rebounds which were converted into 19 second chance points.   Just as the Gators made it a priority to stop Ziegler and Lanier, the Vols made Clayton the focus of their defensive efforts. It was effective, holding him to seven points, all of which came in the second half. But this was a night when Clayton was more valuable passing the ball and playing defense. He had four rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots to go with the seven points.   Clayton hit a second half three to keep his streak alive at 38 games with at least one 3-pointer. Clayton can move into a tie for second with Lee Humphrey Saturday at Arkansas. He needs four to tie Michael Frazier II for the top spot.   With Clayton basically taken out of his game, the Gators relied on Martin, Aberdeen and Condon to take up the scoring slack. Martin scored 18, three on a ridiculous turnaround bomb from the left wing that beat the shot clock. Martin finished with six rebounds, one assist and two steals. Aberdeen scored a career-high 16 including 10 in the first half. Condon delivered a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.   In the first half when the Gators were struggling to make shots, Aberdeen came off the bench to provide a lift. He was a nightmare matchup for Tennessee, which couldn’t find a defender who could neutralize him. Defensively, his long arms made it extremely difficult for Ziegler to lob the ball up top for Okpara and his quickness helped keep him out of the paint.   The Gators dominated from the start, taking a 12-0 lead fueled by a 6-0 run on fast breaks after steals. Once the game settled down a bit, Tennessee kept launching threes but couldn’t find the mark. The Vols took 29 first half shots, nearly half from the 3-point line when they went 0-14  from the 3-point line in the first half and didn’t make a 3-pointer until Lanier got one to go down with 19:10 left in the game.   The closest Tennessee came to the Gators was Will Richard’s fast break layup with 18:58 to go that made it 2-0. The Vols never mounted any sort of comeback. Golden admitted after the game that he fully expected the Gators would win the game, but he was surprised by the final margin.     “W e have incredible respect for Tennessee and, you know, the program that Coach Barnes built there, and we knew this was going to be a really challenging game for us, but we also do believe we're getting to that point where we expect to win these types of games,” Golden said. “It's hard to say when you host the No. 1 team in the country that you expect to win, but I think our program did, you know, going into this game tonight. And, you know, we had good prep, I thought we had really good mentality, had a good shoot-around today, and our guys, they were just ready for it. You know, you can sense it if guys are nervous or if they're not, you know, preparing the right way, and I thought we were really locked in, and I thought our performance showed that.”    SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s scores No. 8 FLORIDA (14-1, 1-1 SEC) 73, No. 1 Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) 43 No. 2 Auburn (14-1, 2-0 SEC) 87, Texas (11-4, 0-2 SEC) 82 Georgia (13-2, 1-1 SEC) 82, No. 6 Kentucky (12-3, 1-1 SEC) 69 No. 14 Mississippi State (14-1, 2-0 SEC) 76, Vanderbilt (13-2, 1-1 SEC) 64 Missouri (12-3, 1-1 SEC) 83, LSU (11-4, 0-2 SEC) 67   Tonight’s games No. 5 Alabama (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) No. 23 Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC) No. 10 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 17 Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC)

Rueben Chinyelu will need a strong game for UF to beat No. 1 Tennessee (Photo by Chris Spears) The late, great Al McGuire’s defensive philosophy started with this: Cut the head off the snake. Al believed that winning defensive basketball begins with making the other team’s best player irrelevant. In the case of the No. 1 Tennessee Vols (14-0, 1-0 SEC), the head of the snake is point guard Zakai Ziegler, who is already making a serious statement for both national and Southeastern Conference player of the year honors.   How do you neutralize Ziegler, a 5-9 waterbug who averages 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and an SEC-leading 8.0 assists per game? Ziegler excels at getting into the lane, drawing defenders and then getting the basketball to a wide open shooter. Despite his size, he gets to the rim and finishes. Defensively, he’s able to double down when the ball goes inside and quick enough to get back to his own man. A year ago, Ziegler was the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.   Finding a way to take Ziegler out of the game has to be the top priority for No. 8 Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC) tonight at the O-Dome (7 p.m., ESPN2). If Ziegler is cooking, the Gators are going to have a very difficult time upsetting the high-flying Vols, who are 14-0 for just the second time in school history. Tennessee’s last 14-0 start was 1923.   Of course, Ziegler is just one problem the Vols pose. The Vols limit opponents to just 55.9 points per game, best in the SEC and second nationally. Tennessee forces opponents into bad shooting nights, lots of them. Opponents are hitting only 34.9 percent of their shots overall, a dismal 24.3 percent from the 3-point line. The Vols are very good at forcing teams deep into the shot clock at which time they take a panic or hurried shot that clangs off the rim.   In their SEC opener against Arkansas, the Vols held the Razorbacks to 52 points on 20-53 shooting overall, 6-29 (20.7 percent) from the 3-point line. That was a typical Tennessee defensive effort. Syracuse scored 70 on the Vols, the most any team has this season.   Can Florida make Ziegler irrelevant while finding a way to get good shots and score against Tennessee’s defense? Against Kentucky, which is a very good defensive team, the Gators scored 100 with 68 coming from the perimeter trio of Walter Clayton Jr. (33), Alijah Martin (26) and Will Richard (9).   It will be imperative for the Gators to dominate the Vols on the backboards. Florida is second nationally in rebounding (45.14 per game) and fifth in offensive rebounds (15.29 per game). This has to be a game in which Alex Condon (10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds), Rueben Chinyelu (5.6 points, 6.8 rebounds), Thomas Haugh (7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds) and Sam Alexis (6.2 points, 4.8 rebounds) assert themselves, both offensively and limiting the Vols to a single shot.   Keys to a Florida victory: This is a winnable game for the Gators, who last beat the nation’s top-ranked team in 2007 when they beat Ohio State in the NCAA Championship game in Atlanta. To beat the Vols, the Gators can’t be trigger happy from the 3-point line. It will be important for the Gators to go inside-out against Tennessee, starting the offense on the inside with the ball going out to the perimeter when the defense collapses to help.   Defensively, the Gators have to revert back to the form they showed in the first 13 games of the season when only three opponents scored 70 or more points. Against Kentucky, Florida had its worst defensive effort of the season, allowing the Wildcats to score 106. Florida’s poor 3-point defense was alarming as Kentucky lit the Gators up for 14-29 shooting behind the arc, with Koby Brea knocking down 7-9. Tennessee’s sharpshooter is North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier, the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.3 per game. The Gators can’t allow Lanier to heat up and take over the game.   Expect an old-fashioned rock fight at the O-Dome. This shapes up as Florida’s irresistible force (88.3 points per game) against Tennessee’s immovable object (allows 55.9 points per game).   Anticipated starting lineups No. 8 FLORIDA (13-1, 0-1 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)   No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC): Igor Milicic (6-10, 225, SR); Felix Okpara (6-11, 235, JR); Chaz Lanier (6-5, 207, SR); Jahmai Mashack (6-4, 202, SR); Zakai  Ziegler (5-9, 172, SR)   Coaches top 25: 1. Tennessee 14-0; 2. Auburn 13-1; 3. Iowa State 12-1; 4. Duke 12-2; 5. Alabama 12-2; 6. Marquette 13-2; 7. Kentucky 12-2; 8.  FLORIDA 13-1; 9. Texas A&M 12-2; 10. UConn 12-3; 11. Houston 10-3; 12. Kansas 10-3; 13. Mississippi State 13-1; 14. Michigan State 12-2; 15. Illinois 11-3; 16. Oklahoma 13-1; 17. Oregon 13-2; 18. Gonzaga 12-4; 19. Purdue 11-4; 20. Memphis 12-3; 21. UCLA 11-3; 22. Ole Miss 12-2; 23. West Virgina 11-2; 24. Michigan 11-3; 25. Utah State 14-1   Associated Press top 25: 1. Tennessee 14-0; 2. Auburn 13-1; 3. Iowa State 12-2; 4. Duke 12-2; 5. Alabama 12-2; 6. Kentucky 12-2; 7. Marquette 13-2; 8. FLORIDA 13-1; 9. UConn 12-3; 10. Texas A&M 12-2; 11. Kansas 10-3; 12. Houston 10-3; 13. Illinois 11-3; 14. Mississippi State 13-1; 15. Oregon 13-2; 16. Michigan State 12-2; 17. Oklahoma 13-1; 18. GonzaGA 12-4; 19. Memphis 12-3; 20. Purdue 11-4; 21. West Virginia 11-2; 22. UCLA 11-3; 23. Ole Miss 12-2; 24. Michigan 11-3; 25. Utah State 14-1   SEC BASKETBALL Today’s games No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 6 FLORIDA (13-1, 0-1 SEC) No. 2 Auburn (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC) No. 10 Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC) No. 17 Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (13-1, 1-0 SEC) LSU (11-3, 0-1 SEC) at Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC) Wednesday’s games No. 5 Alabama (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) No. 13 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 12 Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC) No. 24 Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC)

Todd Golden and the Gators face No. 1 Tennessee Tuesday night (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: Just when we were getting over the Gators navigating the most challenging football schedule in recent memory, along comes the start of the SEC portion of the basketball schedule. Sixth-ranked Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC) started out with a 106-100 loss to 10th-ranked Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Rupp Arena on Saturday but that gives way to Tuesday night when No. 1 and unbeaten Tennesee comes to Gainesville (7 p.m., ESPN2) for a high profile matchup at the O-Dome.   The rest of January looks like this for the Gators: at No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC); at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) and Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC). In February the Gators will play at Tennessee; at No. 2 Auburn; at No. 17 Mississippi State; No. 12 Oklahoma; at LSU; at Georgia; No. 13 Texas A&M; at No. 5 Alabama; and No. 24 Ole Miss.   There are no cupcakes on that schedule. In the kenpom.com analytics, the only SEC team that isn’t in the top 60 is South Carolina. The top 20 at kenpom.com include (1) Auburn, (4) Houston; (7) Florida; (8) Alabama; (11) Texas A&M; (15) Mississippi State; and (19) Kentucky.   The NCAA NET rankings, which factor heavily in the teams that make the NCAA Tournament field, place 15 SEC teams in the top 60. Only South Carolina (92) is outside the top 20. Here is where 15 SEC teams stand: (1) Auburn; (2) Tennessee; (8) Florida; (9) Alabama; (11) Kentucky; (13) Mississippi State; (15) Texas A&M; (28) Vanderbilt; (31) Ole Miss; (36) Georgia; (41) Arkansas; (43) Texas; (45) Oklahoma; (47) Missouri; and (60) LSU.   Joe Lundardi, ESPN’s bracketologist, should come out with new brackets today, but here were his seedings for SEC teams in his last effort back on Friday:   South: (1) Auburn; (3) Texas A&M West: (2) FLORIDA; (6) Oklahoma; (8) Ole Miss Midwest: (1) Tennessee; (3) Kentucky; (9) Arkansas East: (2) Alabama; (4) Mississippi State; (8) Georgia; (10) Texas   SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s games No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 6 FLORIDA (13-1, 0-1 SEC) No. 2 Auburn (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC) No. 10 Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC) No. 17 Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (13-1, 1-0 SEC) LSU (11-3, 0-1 SEC) at Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 5 Alabama (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) No. 13 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 12 Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC) No. 24 Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC)   GATORS ADD TRANSFER SAFETY FROM UAB The Gators added their fifth player from the transfer portal Sunday when former UAB safety Adrian Maddox committed. Maddox spent the 2024 season at UAB after an outstanding two seasons at D1AA Alabama State where he was a semifinalist for the Jerry Rice Award.   At UAB, Maddox was in on 44 tackles with an interception he returned 99 yards for a TD against Rice, seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles. A two-time All-SWAC performer at Alabama State, Maddox was in on 90 tackles including 9.5 for loss. He also had three sacks and two interceptions.   Maddux joins an incoming transfer class of punter Tommy Doman (from Michigan), wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant (from UCLA), EDGE rusher Kofi Asare (from UMass) and quarterback Deshawn Purdie (from Charlotte).   With classes for the spring semester set to begin on January 13 and late registration ending on January 17, the Gators have about 11 days to take care of business in the portal. SEC FOOTBALL Alabama: Starting offensive tackle Elijah Pritchett is in the transfer portal. The former 5-star recruit has two years of eligibility remaining ... New names in the portal from Alabama are tight end Ty Lawson and linebacker Sterling Dixon. Lawson is a redshirt freshman with three years of eligibility. Dixon is a redshirt freshman with four years remaining.   Arkansas: HBC Sam Pittman got a $250,000 raise and a 1-year extension following the Razorbacks’ win over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl.   Georgia: Kirby Smart’s father Sonny, a legendary high school football coach in South Georgia, passed away in New Orleans. Sonny Smith fell and fractured his hip New Year’s Eve. Complications from surgery on the hip were reported as the casue of death ... Jaden Rashada is looking for his third home in three years, actually his fourth if you count the couple of weeks he was a Gator signee before he got his release.   Kentucky: Former 5-star recruit Brock Vandagriff, who spent the 2024 season at Kentucky after transferring from Georgia, is retiring from football. Vandagriff threw for 1,593 yards with 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions at UK.   LSU: Sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks, who was carted off the field after a gruesome leg injury in the bowl win over Baylor, is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery ... Analyst Todd Fitch is leaving LSU to become the offensive coordinator at Charlotte.     Missouri: Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll, Mizzou’s top two rushers in 2024, have declared for the NFL Draft. Noel gained 818 yards and scored three touchdowns after transferring to Mizzou from Appalachian State. He finishes his college career with 3,892 yards and 21 touchdowns. Carroll, who transferred from Georgia State, gained 595 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He finishes his college career with 2,731 yards and 38 touchdowns.   Oklahoma: Marvin Jones Jr., son of the former Florida State great, has transferred from FSU to Oklahoma. This is the third stop for Jones, who began his career at Georgia.   Ole Miss: Ole Miss has won 21 games the past two seasons and is 39-13 over the last four. The 2024 Rebels (10-3) were 13 points away from a perfect season with 3-point losses to Kentucky and LSU (overtime) along with a 7-point loss at Florida.   South Carolina: Robby Ashford has transferred to Wake Forest, his fourth collegiate team. Ashford started out at Oregon, transferred to Auburn and spent last year at South Carolina.   Tennessee: Wide receiver Squirrel White, who caught 131 passes for 1,665 yards and six touchdowns in his three years in Knoxville, has transferred to Florida State.   Texas: The Longhorns are 6-point underdogs for their Friday night College Football Playoff semifinal with Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl ... ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports several NFL teams are expected to at least kick tires regarding Texas HBC Steve Sarkisian’s interest in coaching in the NFL. At least one team -- New England -- already has an opening after Jerod Mayo was fired Sunday after one year on the job.   Texas A&M: Wide receiver Noah Thomas, who led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns, is in the portal. In three seasons, Thomas caught 73 passes for 984 yards and 15 touchdowns.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: This might go down as the most important offseason in recent University of Florida football history as the Gators are expected to modernize their football operations in the next two or three weeks. Zach Abloverdi of Gators Online reports that the moves will entail more than one hire. Abloverdi has recently reported that the Gators will hire an assistant athletic director for football and a vice president of football.   Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Napier and athletic director Scott Stricklin interviewed four candidates this past Thursday and Friday for a role that will involve negotiating contracts, evaluating talent and manage a salary cap. Interviewed were Philadelphia Eagles exec David Caldwell, formerly the GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars; Ole Miss general manager Matt Lindsay, who worked for the Eagles previously; Nick Polk, for 17 years director of football operations for the Atlanta Falcons; and Rick Mueller, director of player personnel of the Arlington Renegades of the UFL, another formerly with the Eagles.   University of Florida graduate Howie Roseman is the executive vice president and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a two-time NFL Executive of the Year.   These changes are an absolute necessity as college football makes substantial changes as of July 1, 2025, when revenue sharing begins as part of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement. Schools will operate under a $20.5 million cap and rosters will be limited to 105 players. It is hoped that the revenue sharing will help eliminate some of the NIL deals that are widely criticized for the explosion of transfers in the portal. As of late Sunday night there were nearly 2,500 in the portal with only 949 having found a new place to call home.   The changes in the Florida organization are long overdue. Billy Napier made it a priority to change the way the Gators evaluate personnel and scouting, which has resulted in better use of the portal as well as high school recruiting. However, with Division I football going to revenue sharing and essentially the elimination of the walk-on program thanks to the 105-player cap, the Gators have to further modernize if they’re going to catch up to and surpass the operations at Alabama, Georgia and others in the SEC.   The $20.5 million cap is the result of the NCAA trying to stave off antitrust legislation. Like everything the NCAA attempts to accomplish, there is a very good change it will fail mightily. The cap is to be voted on April 7, at which time it is almost a certainty that the NCAA will be hammered with dozens of lawsuits from athletes claiming it is an attempt to restrict their earnings, from agents who will claim it is an attempt to limit what athletes and agents make and from collectives that will claim it’s an attempt to put them out of business completely.   Lawsuits could very well delay the implementation of any new plan. It only takes one judge with a vested interest in a certain team to put a hold on proceedings while appeals are heard. We’ve seen how both Florida State and Clemson have found sympathetic judges to try to force their lawsuits against the Atlantic Coast Conference to be heard in Florida and South Carolina. The ACC wants the cases heard in North Carolina, where the league is headquartered. It only takes one judge to force a delay that could last months or even years in the cap case, so it isn’t a done deal just yet.   In reality, this new deal with caps and roster limits is a last gasp to remain in the Division I football business by the NCAA. If you’ve followed the NCAA and its inept attempts to provide leadership, then you should see this as nothing more than fingers plugged into a leaking dam. Perhaps it will work, but history says it is a deal done by the NCAA which guarantees failure.   Hopefully, smart people such as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey see this for what it’s worth: a stopgap measure at best. Sankey has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to collegiate athletics. He needs to be on his game once again, ready with a contingency plan for a new organization that has a chance to actually save college football from itself.

Changes ahead for Gators, including the search for a general manager. And the magic number is 9.

Walter Clayton Jr. sizes up a shot from the corner (UAA Photo by Maddie Washburn) Scoring wasn’t the issue for 6th-ranked Florida Saturday at Rupp Arena. The Gators scored 100 points, plenty enough to win. There was that teensy problem of stops, however. The Gators didn’t get enough of them, which had plenty to do Florida losing for the first time all season.   Alijah Martin put things in perspective.   “We let them be comfortable,” Martin said after the Gators (13-1, 0-1 SEC) dropped their Southeastern Conference opener, 106-100, to 10th-ranked Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC). “We let them do what they do. We let their shooters shoot. I think we beat ourselves. We’re a much better defensive team and we didn’t display it today.”   On the offensive end, Martin did his part to keep the Gators in the game. He scored 26 of which 20 came in the second half. Walter Clayton Jr. lit up the Wildcats for 33, but like Martin, he had no excuses to offer up.   “Bad defense,” Clayton said, noting that when you give up 106 points, “you’re doing something wrong defensively. Coaches gave us a game plan that we didn’t execute as players.”   The game plan was to limit Kentucky’s ability to burn the Gators from the 3-point line. With Dayton transfer Koby Brea knocking down 7-9 including four in the first half when the Wildcats rallied from down 11 to a 52-42 lead at the intermission, Kentucky went 14-29 on 3-pointers.   When Kentucky started draining the threes, it opened up the paint where the Wildcats scored another 44.   “We did two things really poorly,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We didn’t guard the three -- gave up 42 points behind the line -- and we gave up 44 in the paint. You can’t come in here and expect to win guarding that way.”   Prior to Saturday, the Gators ranked among the best defensive teams in the country. In 10 of their 13 previous games, the Gators held opponents to 69 or fewer points. North Carolina’s 84 back on December 17 was the most Florida had allowed until Kentucky.   The Gators were ahead 26-15, playing like a team on a mission to score a blowout win on the road when Kentucky caught fire behind Brea, who nailed a pair of threes during a 16-0 run that turned the game upside down for the Gators. Instead of dominating the Wildcats like they did in the first 8:47, the Gators completely lost their composure over a 3:34 stretch.   The Gators went 0-6, all six from the 3-point line, as Kentucky took control of the game.   “I did a poor job in the first half, probably should've used a timeout earlier during that run,” Golden said. “We had Walt on the bench at that time, and we were just a little out of sorts.”   Florida regained its composure enough to tie the game at 40-40 with 2:22 to go in the half, but Kentucky answered with 10 straight points and finished the half ahead 52-42. Florida spent the second half in a constant rally mode. The Gators cut the Kentucky lead to four in the first minute of the seocnd half on back-to-back threes by Martin and Clayton, but Kentucky seemed to have a response ready every time Florida got close.    The Gators closed the gap to one on three occasions in the second half. Will Richard scored on a layup and free throw with 13:27 left in the game to cut Kentucky’s once 8-point second half lead to 65-64. Alijah Martin followed his own 3-point miss by scoring in the lane with 12:48 left to narrow the UK lead to 67-66. Martin hit a 3-pointer with 12:08 to go to bring the Gators back to a 70-69 deficit.   That’s when Kentucky went on another 10-0 tear for an 80-69 lead with 9:23 to go. Clayton heated up for the Gators but so did Brea, who hit a 3-pointer with 7:58 left and another three at the 6:50 mark, the second one putting Kentucky up 89-80 wtih 6:00 left in the game.   Florida rallied back on a 7-0 run, two from the foul line by Thomas Haugh, a 3-pointer by Clayton and two foul shots that made it an 89-87 deficit with 4:16 left. Again, the Gators needed a stop but couldn’t rise up defensively. Kentucky outscored Florida 17-13 the rest of the way with the dagger a 3-pointer from the corner by Andrew Carr with 1:30 left that made it a 99-91 game.   “ I think we got it to a one-possession game there middle part of the second half, and then late I think we were down four at the last media [timeout] and maybe cut it to two. Again, to Kentucky’s credit, every time we were within striking distance, they made big shots. That Carr three was huge. I think that was probably the cherry on top for them and iced it. But I thought our guys were pretty resilient. I thought we stayed the course and, process-wise, besides the defensive end I thought we were pretty good. ”   Game notes: Clayton hit six 3-pointers, extending his streak to 37 games with at least one make from beyond the arc ... The Gators outrebounded Kentucky 38-30, led by Alex Condon with 10, who also had nine points, three assists and a blocked shot. Rueben Chinyelu, in addition to his 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked two shots ... Condon, Richard and Haugh each scored nine points ... The Gators shot 55 percent from the field (33-60) ... On the negative side, Kentucky turned nine Florida turnovers into 20 points. The Gators turned Kentucky over only six times, scoring four points.   Florida was a dismal 22-35 from the foul line. Clayton, who was 30-33 on the season coming into the game, was just 9-13. Martin, who was hitting 81.5 percent was only 3-7.   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday scores No. 10 Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) 106, No. 6 FLORIDA (13-1, 0-1 SEC) 100 No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) 78, No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC) 52 No. 2 Auburn (13-1, 1-0 SEC) 84, Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC) 68 No. 5 Alabama (12-2, 1-0 SEC) 107, No. 12 Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC) 79 No. 13 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) 80, Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC) 60 No. 17 Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) 85, South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) 50 No. 24 Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) 63, Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC) 51 Vanderbilt (13-1, 1-0 SEC) 80, LSU (11-3, 0-1 SEC) 72

Alijah Martin's defense will be critical today for the Gators at Rupp (Photo by Chris Spears) Scoring seems to be the least of the concerns for 6th-ranked Florida (13-0). The Gators average 87.4 points per game, which ranks ninth in the country. It’s the same for 10th-ranked Kentucky (11-2), which puts up 89 a game, third nationally.   Something has to give when you put two teams with such high-powered offenses on the court. Even if the game turns into a shootout, which this morning’s Florida-Kentucky matchup at Rupp Arena (11 a.m., ESPN) could be, someone is going to have to get some stops to pull off a win.   If there is an advantage for the Gators, who have won only 12 times in Lexington in the years the two teams have been playing, it could be on the defensive end, where only three UF opponents have scored more than 69 points. South Florida scored 83 in the season opener, Florida State scored 74 in Tallahassee in mid-November and North Carolina scored 84 back on December 17.   The Gators have what head coach Todd Golden calls “spurtability,” which is their ability to go on these scoring blitzes in which they outscore opponents by 10 or 15 or more over a short stretch that seems to leave the other team gasping for breath. Florida’s scoring spurts are one of the chief reasons basketball analytical guru Ken Pomeroy ranks the Gators eighth in offensive efficiency. Most highly efficient offensive teams suffer some sort of drop off on the other end of the floor, but not the Gators, who are ranked 12th in defensive analytics.   In layman’s terms, the Gators score 87.4, give up 63.5 (24th nationally) and rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring margin at 23.9 points per game. The Gators rank fourth nationally in 3-point defensive, allowing opponents to shoot a meager 26.6 percent.   The Gators are the No. 1 rebounding team in the country (45.69) and the No. 4 team in offensive rebounds (15.31). Alex Condon leads Florida’s 4-man rotation of big guys at 7.5 rebounds per game, while Rueben Chinyelu grabs 6.7, Thomas Haugh 5.7 and Sam Alexis 5.3. The big guys get plenty of help from guards Alijah Martin (5.7) and Will Richard (5.0).   Kentucky has been ranked as high as No. 4 this season, largely on the strength of wins over Duke and Gonzaga, but the Wildcats were shocked at Clemson during the SEC-ACC Shootout and back on December 21 they had their doors blown off by Ohio State, 85-65, in a neutral site game. Kentucky is 9-0 at Rupp Arena.   Key matchups: Critical for the Gators will be shutting down Kentucky’s perimeter 3-some of leading scorer Otega Oweh (15.9 points, 36.1 percent on 3-pointers), Lamont Butler (13.3 points, 41.9 percent on 3-pointers) and Koby Brea (11.9 points, 49.4 percent on 3-pointers). Will Richard will probably draw the assignment of Brea while Alijah Martin will likely draw Butler and Walter Clayton Jr. most likely Oweh ... The tough inside matchup will be Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr (6-11, 235), averaging 11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. Playing for Wake Forest against the Gators a year ago, Carr lit up UF for 22 points while hitting 3-6 on his 3-pointers. Alex Condon probably gets the initial assignment on Carr.   Stuff: The Gators are No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings while Kentucky is No. 14. In the overall Kenpom.com analytics, the Gators are No. 7 nationally while Kentucky is No. 22 ... Kentucky is No. 10 offensively and No. 56 defensively at Kenpom.com .   Anticipated starting lineups No. 6 FLORIDA (13-0): 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)   No. 10 Kentucky (11-2): Andrew Carr (6-11, 235, SR); Amari Williams (6-10, 262, SR); Jaxson Robinson (6-6, 192, SR); Otega Oweh (6-4, 215, JR); Lamont Butler (6-2, 208)   SEC BASKETBALL Today’s games No. 6 FLORIDA (13-0) at No. 10 Kentucky (11-2) No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at No. 1 Tennessee (13-0) Missouri (11-2) at No. 2 Auburn (12-1) No. 12 Oklahoma (13-0) at No. 5 Alabama (11-2) Texas (11-2) at No. 13 Texas A&M (11-2) South Carolina (10-3) at No. 17 Mississippi State (12-1) Georgia (12-1) at No. 24 Ole Miss (11-2) Vanderbilt (12-1) at LSU (11-2)

I thought about picking the Gators to go undefeated and win a natty as DJ Lagway wins UF’s fourth Heisman. Too optimistic? I promise to be more grateful for the little things and lower my expectations, so there will be no New Year’s Resolutions in 2025 that can’t be broken — or at least revised in mid-stream.   I thought about picking the Gators to go undefeated and win a natty as DJ Lagway wins UF’s fourth Heisman. Too optimistic? Ok, I’ll settle for the SEC title, playoffs and a Heisman finalist. See what I did there?   To put a moratorium on complaining about the new CFB Playoffs with two-year ceasefire until they have a 24-month window to tweak it. Note: I did not say I would be forced to accept or endorse it by 2027.   I promise to stop screaming at the TV, complaining about Ill-informed announcers and stop bitching at ESPN for making me go on Easter Egg Hunts to find a game. Well, at least the complaining part about the announcers.   I also promise to appreciate the high degree of professionalism-with a touch of of-homerism style of Sean Kelly, treasure the football knowledge of Steve Spurrier and celebrate the chance to work with Ben Troupe, Ali Peek Wilbur and Shane Matthews. Ok, well at least not argue so much with Shane when it comes to football, because he’s a Phi Beta Kappa in that.   I promise to laugh more, cry less, love with more conviction (especially my 4 grandchildren) and reach out for the joy that has previously always been there but may have eluded me. Ok, I might need a mulligan sometimes on that crying thing.   I want to thank God for my legion of good friends, especially my old bestie Ed M, new bestie Carswell — and while I am at it, my new wife of one year (Jan. 20). Yeah, the new wife thing, Dawne. Do I get points?   I look forward with great anticipation to these new challenges and opportunities in 2025: —Finishing at least two of the three books I have started, one of them a newspaper novel of 40 years ago, one of them a schmaltzy romantic Rom/Com and made-for-Hallmark TV book. I may also, with the help of my daughter Rebecca and pal Carlton, begin work on a long-promised memoir. OK, a least the Rom/Com.   —With the help of the new school president, launching a unique sports writing/broadcasting curriculum at a state school by this fall. And no caveats here. I am dead serious.   —To launch a podcast in the Panhandle and help my stepson Tyler launch his in Marianna.   —To be kinder, more grateful, more concerned for others and more appreciative for those with whom I serve. Including Brenden, Franz, Ben, Loren, Carlton, Chris, Mike, Dan, Rob and Eddie.   —And if he’ll deputize me, help my stepson Sheriff Tommy Ford catch more crooks in Bay County. Ok, at least call him if I see something suspicious because he doesn’t necessarily see the need for a firearm in our house.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:   It’s fairly obvious that the schedule-makers in the Southeastern Conference have no clue about tradition, otherwise they wouldn’t have scheduled 6th-ranked Florida (13-0) at 10th-ranked Kentucky (11-2) to start league play Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN). Not only that, they wouldn’t have allowed ESPN to schedule the game at 11 a.m.   Florida and Kentucky will only play once this season, breaking a long-standing tradition of home-and-home. Typically, Florida will play Kentucky the last home game of the season every other year. It’s Senior Day and the O-Dome is a zoo. Every other year the Gators have played at Kentucky for the Wildcats final home game, also their Senior Day.   But not this year and what’s happening seems to be the norm for the new, expanded Southeastern Conference. We’ve seen traditional rivalries broken up in football and now we’re seeing it happen in basketball. It’s called progress. I know that, but that doesn’t make it right and it certainly doesn’t mean I have to like it.   If there is a silver lining to this scheduling stupidity it is the opportunity for Todd Golden and the Gators to send another shot across the college basketball bow. Should the Gators win their SEC opener at Rupp is just one more statement that Florida is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Everybody is aware that Florida has this rather well-balanced mix of inside-outside that few teams in college basketball have. The Gators are tall, athletic and intimidating on the inside and so explosive on the perimeter. There are very few teams that can match Florida’s size and when you get to the perimeter, who are you thinking of taking out? Walter Clayton Jr.? Alijah Martin? Will Richard? Denzel Aberdeen? Take one out and the other three will kill you. Try to take all four out and the inside foursome of Alex Condon (6-11), Rueben Chinyelu (6-10), Thomas Haugh (6-9) and Sam Alexis (6-9) will absolutely make you pay.   Golden has also convinced the Gators that you can still be a great offensive team while playing lock down defense. The Gators currently rank eighth nationally in scoring (87.4 per game) while holding opponents to 63.5 points per game, which is 24th. The Gators are second in the country in scoring margin, winning games by a margin of 23.9 per game.   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s games No. 6 FLORIDA (13-0) at No. 10 Kentucky (11-2) No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at No. 1 Tennessee (13-0) Missouri (11-2) at No. 2 Auburn (12-1) No. 12 Oklahoma (13-0) at No. 5 Alabama (11-2) Texas (11-2) at No. 13 Texas A&M (11-2) South Carolina (10-3) at No. 17 Mississippi State (12-1) Georgia (12-1) at No. 24 Ole Miss (11-2) Vanderbilt (12-1) at LSU (11-2)   LET THE WINNING SEASON BEGIN Perhaps that should be the nickname for sports at the University of Florida once a new year begins. This could be Florida’s most dominant spring ever and there is a legitimate shot at winning the Learfield Director’s Cup. The Gators are top five fixtures but this year the Gators have it in them to make the Final Four in men’s basketball. A national championship? That’s a roll of the dice in March where the best team in the country doesn’t always win the national title, just the only team standing after a 6-game run.   In addition to basketball, the Gators will be among the favorites to hoist national championship trophies in gymnastics (preseason No. 3), baseball (expected top 3), softball (expected top 2), men’s swimming (currently No. 4), women’s swimming (currently No. 4), both men’s and women’s indoor track (always national title contenders as long as Mike Holloway is the coach), and both men’s and women’s outdoor track (see indoor track). Lacrosse will be highly ranked as the men’s and women’s golf and tennis teams.   The road to national championships in sports other than basketball is every bit as rocky, but this is that rare year when the Gators should challenge to win multiple titles. I believe the Gators will win it all in gymnastics, softball and at least two in track. By adding UCLA transfer Selena Harris-Miranda (5 perfect 10s last year) to go with NCAA all-around runner-up Leanne Wong, Jenny Rowland has a roster that is as talented and deep as any in the nation. Tim Walton brings back pitchers Keagan Rothrock and Ava Brown along with national player of the year Jocelyn Erickson, All-American center fielder Kendra Falby and another generational recruiting class to make a run at the softball title after finishing third last year. Mike Holloway has won 14 national championships in indoor and outdoor track. It seems he wins at least one every year. Why should this year be any different?   THE 12-TEAM PLAYOFF NEEDS SOME TWEAKS   The 12-team playoff is superior to the 4-team model, but it is in serious need of some tweaks. If you don’t believe it, then consider this: When the playoff began, the top four seeds were 1. Oregon; 2. Georgia; 3. Arizona State and 4. Boise State. They were rewarded with a first round bye while teams seeded five through eight all got home games.   The teams seeded five through eight all not only won their first round home games, but they beat the four top seeded teams that got byes in the second round. That should tell the folks who run the College Football Playoff that there is something seriously wrong with their current format.   Under the current model, the four highest ranked conference champions are seeded one through four. That needs to change. The top four seeds should be the four highest ranked teams. Also, just because a team wins 11 games doesn’t necessarily mean it’s one of the top 12 teams in the country. Indiana and SMU, for example, played cupcake schedules, won 11 games and then got obliterated in the playoff when they had to play good teams. Strength of schedule HAS to be a major factor in choosing teams for the playoff. Indiana played only one ranked team all year (Ohio State) and was destroyed before Notre Dame hosed the Hoosiers in the playoff. SMU played only one ranked team (Louisville) prior to the ACC Championship Game with Clemson. SMU lost to Clemson then was hammered into submission by Penn State in the playoff. Neither Indiana nor SMU deserved to be in the playoff. They weren’t among the best 12 teams in the country.   Why give teams seeded five through eight a home game? Shouldn’t the four highest seeded teams get a home game? After all, they earned it.     Why is it that Notre Dame, which doesn’t belong to a conference, got a first round home game? If the Irish wish to participate in the playoff, then they should have to join a conference and face the reality of a conference championship game.   Since the advent of the playoff system, bowl games have become more and more irrelevant best evidenced by attendance. The Florida-Tulane Gasparilla Bowl game, one of the earlier games, drew 41,000-plus to RayJay in Tampa. That’s one of the best attended bowl games. Last night’s Gator Bowl between Ole Miss and Duke (Ole Miss 52-20 winner) drew 31,290. The Las Vegas Bowl (Southern Cal 35, Texas A&M 31) drew 26,671. The Pop Tarts Bowl (Iowa State 42, Miami 41) drew 38,650. The Citrus Bowl (Illinois 24, South Carolina 21) was attended by 47,129 and the Reliaquist Bowl in Tampa (Michigan 19, Alabama 13) drew 51,439. The only bowl game that really drew well was the Alamo Bowl (BYU 36, Colorado 14), which had 64,000-plus.   The bowl games aren’t salvagable under the current way of doing business, which is dictated by ESPN. ESPN doesn’t give a rat’s ass about how many people attend games as long as it can fill empty space in its scheduling during the month of December. Fans aren’t exactly inclined to flock to Frisco Texas on a Tuesday night in mid-December to watch a 6-6 West Virginia team face 10-2 Memphis or to Phoenix on a Thursday night to see 7-5 Rutgers against 8-4 Kansas State.   About the only way to salvage the bowls is to expand the playoff and incorporate more bowl games into the format. An expanded 16-game playoff could take the top 14 bowl games and make them relevant. Expand to 24 and play eight first round games with eight conference champs getting a bye. Then eight second rounders, four quarterfinal games and two semifinals. That would incorporate 22 bowl games. Alternate the national championship game between Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: College football as we know it isn’t terminally ill, but it could get there if some changes aren’t made very soon. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, is trying to get Congress to intervene and solve the myriad of issues, but someone please tell me the last time Congress got anything right. The current proposal brought forth by dunce in charge Charlie Baker on behalf of the NCAA will reward the conferences at the top level of the sport while forcing those at the mid-and-lower levels to figure out how they’re going to manage to survive.   We need a healthy college game, not one where the only ones capable of surviving financially are at the very top. If the NCAA has its way, it will be simply a matter of time before some football and athletic programs go belly up. Is that what we want or need?   At the heart of the matter are the transfer portal and NIL, which are spiraling completely out of control. As of midnight Thursday (per On3), 2,408 players had entered the transfer portal with only 35 percent committed or signed somewhere else. That’s pathetic.   And then there is the question about NIL money. Can someone explain how or why some college kid deserves to be making millions of dollars to play a sport or why some high school kid who has never strapped on a jock against college competition should get a 4-year deal worth $8 million?   We have both these problems thanks to the NCAA, which under the guidance of Mark Emmert lost every important case it chose to fight in the courts.   So here are my updated suggestions to save college football: 1. Announce plans to form a new organization that is streamlined, has its own set of rules and is headed by a commissioner who (a) actually knows football; (b) has unmatched integrity and (c) is willing to rule with an iron hand to weed out those who cheat or try to flaunt the rules.   2. Make the punishment severe for rules breakers, a combination of multi-million dollar fines, serious losses of scholarships and suspensions for coaches who get caught. Make the punishment severe enough and long enough that no one is willing to do it again.   3. Five years eligibility. Period. No waivers that grant extra years. No redshirts. Just five years. End of story.   4. Players are employees of the athletic association, not the university. Salary caps. Opt out during the season and players are liable for all money paid prior. Opt out for a bowl game, same thing. Players are under contract to play football. Period. Health insurance benefits extended to 10 years after expiration of eligibility. Education benefits extended to five years after expiration of eligibility.   5. Transfer portal opens once a year in May for 21 days. Spring practice AFTER the portal closes for 21 days.   6. Transfer with less than a 2.5 GPA and you sit a year. Transfer and you’re still taking remedial courses, sit a year. Transfer December through May 1 and sit a year.   7. NIL money must flow through registered agents. Any NIL money from non-registered agents results in a 1-year suspension for the player and a 10-year ban for the non-registered agent.   8. Hiring and firing season for coaches is January 1 to February 1.   9. No paycheck games for D1AA opponents. Paycheck games allowed with D1AA teams instead of the typical spring game.