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7 hours ago
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Florida has won 12 of its last 13 games heading into the NCAA tournament. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Florida should be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Gators left little doubt as to who the second No. 1 seed from the SEC would be with a 86-77 win over Tennessee in the SEC tournament title game on Sunday. Florida controlled the game for nearly its entirety and pulled away after a brief run by Tennessee in the second half.
The Vols cut Florida’s lead to 67-62 with 7:07 to go thanks to a flurry by Jordan Gainey. But Florida went on to outscore Tennessee 11-4 over the next 3:26 to pull away. Any hope of a Tennessee comeback was extinguished during that run when Chaz Lanier fouled out with 5:29 remaining.
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Neither team shot particularly well from the floor. That wasn’t a surprising development; Tennessee is one of the best defensive teams in the country. But the Gators dominated the Vols on the boards and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to Tennessee’s five. Those second-chance points were huge as Tennessee went with a much smaller lineup than the Gators for much of the game.
Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points and Will Richard had 17. Gainey led all scorers with 24. It's the first time Florida has won the SEC tournament since 2014.
Sunday’s win caps a season where Florida went 14-4 in the SEC during the regular season. All four of those losses came to teams who will be in the NCAA tournament field later in the day and just one — a one-point loss to Missouri — came at home.
The Gators scored road wins at Auburn and Alabama and split their regular-season series with Tennessee. Had the Vols won on Sunday, Tennessee could have rivaled Florida for a No. 1 seed.
Now, the top four seeds look pretty clear cut and Florida will be a trendy national title pick as its won 12 of its last 13 games. Either Auburn or Duke will likely be the No. 1 overall seed and Houston should also be a No. 1 seed. The Gators should join those three teams on the No. 1 line with Tennessee, Alabama, St. John’s and Michigan State the likely No. 2 seeds.
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