The Gators look primed to run it back this March, an idea that seemed ridiculous just a few months ago. (AP/Morgan Hurd)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Florida is surging at just the right time.
Here’s everything you need to know entering the SEC tournament this weekend in Nashville.
Can Florida run it back?
Florida is back, right?
The Gators, after last year’s national championship win, struggled to start the season. They lost out of the gate, and then ended up falling out of the national rankings completely by early January.
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But now, this team feels like a completely different story. The Gators ended the season on an 11-game win streak, capped with an 84-77 win over Kentucky on Saturday. They’ve lost just twice since the turn of the new year, too, and ended the season with a 25-6 record and their first regular-season SEC title since 2014. They won it by three full games as the rest of the conference just sort of beat itself up.
Now, this isn’t to say that nobody else in the SEC can compete with Florida. Arkansas has looked solid at times, though Florida beat it by more than 30 points last month. Alabama won nine of its last 10 games to jump back up in the league standings and earn a double bye after a 23-point loss at Florida. And Vanderbilt, after a 16-0 start, leveled out a bit but still held its own in the SEC.
But all eyes this week in Nashville will be on the Gators, who suddenly look capable of winning back-to-back national titles again. As long as it doesn’t slip early, Florida may actually end up with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, which will only help in that quest.
That idea just a few months ago didn’t even seem possible.
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When: March 11-15
Where: Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, Tennessee
TV: ESPN, SEC Network
The SEC men’s basketball tournament bracket is set. (SEC)
SEC men’s basketball schedule, results
All times ET
Wednesday, March 11 – First Round
Game 1 | No. 16 LSU vs. No. 9 Kentucky | 12:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 2 | No. 13 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Auburn | 3 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 3 | No. 15 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Texas | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 4 | No. 14 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oklahoma | 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Thursday, March 12 — Second Round
Game 5 | G1 winner vs. No. 8 Missouri | 12:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 6 | G2 winner vs. No. 5 Tennessee | 3 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 7 | G3 winner vs. No. 7 Georgia | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 8 | G4 winner vs. No. 6 Texas A&M | 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
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Friday, March 13 — Quarterfinals
Game 9 | G5 winner vs. No. 1 Florida | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 10 | G6 winner vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
Game 11 | G7 winner vs. No. 2 Alabama | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 12 | G8 winner vs. No. 3 Arkansas | 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Saturday, March 14 — Semifinals
Game 13 | G9 winner vs. G10 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 14 | G11 winner vs. G12 winner | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
Sunday, March 15 — Championship
Game 15 | G13 winner vs. G14 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
