The 2024-25 Southeastern Conference will forever be known as one of the greatest conferences that college basketball has ever seen, and at the final buzzer of this campaign it was the Florida Gators that remained standing, beating the Tennessee Volunteers 86-77 for what will be a memorable win for the program. It was a high-level game between two hungry teams and for the first fifteen minutes it was extremely competitive with a number of lead changes. Ultimately Florida’s shot makers stepped up to the plate against one of the best defenses in the country, knocking down shot after shot to give the Gators a double digit lead. At one point the Volunteers had a furious comeback to cut the deficit to a couple of possessions but the Gators quickly extinguished the fire and built the lead back up which resulted in a comfortable finish.
It would be hard to overstate what an accomplishment this is for the Florida program. This SEC Tournament Championship was built in the regular season where the Gators were able to secure a second seed and a double bye, positioning themselves to go on a run. Not only did they have to beat three fantastic teams in Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee–but they did it rather convincingly. Sure, there were moments where the games got close, usually during the middle portion, but ultimately the Gators rolled to a championship with 14, 22, and 9 point wins–much bigger margins than you would expect to see in a league of this caliber.
Oftentimes when it gets to postseason play a team’s biggest strengths and biggest weaknesses are spotlighted. For the Gators, everything that they have done well to this point seemed to be amplified. For starters, they were able to get 15 offensive rebounds while only allowing 5 to Tennessee, a perfect testament to a season where they dominated the glass. These extra possessions were valuable opportunities to put points on the board even if their first shot wasn’t falling, and it seemed like each second chance point was a backbreaker to the Volunteers as they tried to get back into the game.
If you’re going to win a championship you need your best players to be your best players, and that was of course the case with Walter Clayton who put up a neat 22 points with a number of his patented step back threes, each of which taking the wind out of the sails of a Tennessee defense that thought they had him contained.
Arguably Florida’s biggest difference maker was veteran wing Will Richard who had an excellent shooting game going 3-6 from three and 8-8 from the free throw line for 17 points, and he was clearly a leader on the court and on the bench, using his experience to inspire his teammates.
When the Gators needed a boost off the bench it came from none other than Thomas Haugh, one of the best sixth men in the country, who had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Many of his buckets came off the drive as Tennessee was unable to contain the 6’9” forward sprinting to his right side on his way to a layup.
College basketball is often all about playing your best basketball in March, and it appears the Gators are doing just that. Winning the SEC Tournament Championship would have been impressive even if they did it by barely sneaking by in each game–but that wasn’t the case. They beat three excellent teams by a combined 45 points, and that speaks to just how special the team is and what they are going to be capable of in a week when the NCAA Tournament begins. It’s worth noting as well that in some ways winning the SEC Tournament Championship is going to be harder than advancing to an Elite Eight or even Final Four, as the Gators might not see a team as good as Missouri, Alabama, or Tennessee up until that point. This championship proves to the Gators just what they are capable of, and they won’t have any fear going up against any team in the country–whoever that may be.
The Gators will now look to quickly recover as they wait for the 6 PM ET Selection Show where they find out who they will face. With the win over Tennessee the Gators have secured a 1-seed in the bracket meaning they will be perfectly positioned to go on a run.