Florida Gators Basketball Picked To Finish Second In SEC

With SEC men’s basketball media days underway, the conference released the preseason polls Wednesday. Coming off an undefeated regular season and a SEC tournament championship, the Florida Gators were selected to finish second in the conference for the third straight year.

Junior guard Michael Frazier II was selected preseason First Team All-SEC. The only returning starter to the team, Frazier II averaged 12.4 points per game and averaged 3.5 rebounds per game. This is Florida’s first preseason First Team selection since Kenny Boynton prior to the 2012-13 season. Frazier II’s selection also marks the first time only one Gator has been represented in the first or second teams since prior to the 2010-11 season. That year Chandler Parsons was the school’s only player picked.

Kentucky was a unanimous pick to win the SEC. This is the Kentucky’s first unanimous selection since 1995-96, and the 10th time the team has received the top vote since the 1998-99 season. Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison was chosen as the preseason SEC Player of the Year. Kentucky players Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew Harrison, Alex Poythress and Karl-Anthony Towns also received first place votes.

Conference play begins January 6, with the 2015 SEC Tournament March 11-15 in Nashville.

Preseason Media Poll
1. Kentucky (20) 280 pts
2. Florida 258 pts
3. Arkansas 226 pts
4. LSU 223 pts
5. Georgia 204 pts
6. Ole Miss 168 pts
7. Missouri 123 pts
8. Auburn 113 pts
9. Texas A&M 111 pts
10. Alabama 109 pts
11. Vanderbilt 89 pts
12. South Carolina 86 pts
13. Tennessee 75 pts
14. Mississippi State 35 pts
First-Place Votes in Parentheses

First Team All-SEC
Bobby Portis – Arkansas, F, 6-11, 242, So., Little Rock, Ark.
Michael Frazier II – Florida, G, 6-4, 194, Jr., Tampa, Fla.
Aaron Harrison – Kentucky, G, 6-6, 212, So., Richmond, Texas
Jordan Mickey – LSU, F, 6-8, 235, So., Dallas, Texas
Jarvis Summers – Ole Miss, G, 6-3, 186, Sr., Jackson, Miss.

Ryan Randall
From Melbourne, Florida, Ryan has lived in Florida since he was three, becoming a sports fan around that age. His passion for journalism rivals his love of sports. Shortly out of high school he covered prep and community sports for his hometown paper in Brevard Country, before moving to Gainesville, where he covered the Gators in the pros as well as prep sports for a few publications. A Telecommunications major at UF, Ryan now interns at Gator Country and ecstatic to showcase his talents for the publication. When not working on stories, Ryan enjoys playing basketball, music, as well as art. Follow Ryan at @_RyanRandall_