Second-seeded Florida might have clinched a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with Saturday’s impressive beatdown of Alabama in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals.
Then again, fourth-seeded Tennessee may have a say about how things play out when the No. 8 Volunteers and No. 4 Gators meet in Sunday’s SEC tournament title game in Nashville.
Tennessee earned the title game appearance by posting a 70-65 victory over top-seeded Auburn in a semifinal contest. Florida exploded for a season-best scoring output while trouncing third-seeded Alabama 104-82 in its semifinal.
As per the debate on whether the Gators are worthy of a No. 1 seed, Florida coach Todd Golden said that ended with the thumping of the Crimson Tide.
“I think we secured a No. 1 seed today. That’s my opinion,” Golden said. “… I don’t really think it’s a debate regardless of the result (on Sunday).
“With that being said, it’s another opportunity for us to get a really good win. It’s a really big challenge against one of the most physical, tough-minded, winning programs in America. We’ll be ready to go. More than anything, it’s just a great opportunity for us to get a championship.”
Tennessee appears to be set on the 2-seed line no matter what happens in the title game.
“It’s going to be another hard-fought game for two teams,” Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said. “You turn around, with all the attention heading into March Madness, and you got to keep your guys focused.”
Tennessee and Florida met twice in the regular season and each team notched a blowout victory. The losing squad in each game experienced its lowest-scoring game of the campaign.
The Gators rolled to a 73-43 home win over then-No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 7 when the Volunteers shot just 21.4 percent (12 of 56) from the floor.
Three-plus weeks later, the Volunteers returned the favor with a stellar 64-44 home victory in which they held Florida to 24.5 percent (13 of 53) from the field.
The third meeting carries the most meaning and Tennessee star point guard Zakai Zeigler is hoping it will be his team cutting down the nets.
“It would be amazing,” Zeigler said. “It would mean a lot to us. … If we come out and do our job, we have a good chance at doing it.”
In Florida’s rout of Alabama, Walter Clayton Jr. matched his season best of six 3-pointers and recorded 22 points, six assists and three steals without committing a turnover.
“Playing like the best point guard in America right now,” Golden said of Clayton.
Alijah Martin and Will Richard scored 16 points apiece. Florida led by two points at halftime before dominating the second half by a 57-37 margin.
Asked what his club needs to win the SEC tournament, Clayton’s words were simple.
“We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Clayton said. “Don’t change nothing.”
Zeigler scored 20 points and Jordan Gainey added 15 in the Vols’ victory over Auburn.
Tennessee held a 64-52 lead after two free throws by Zeigler with 6:05 remaining before Auburn got back into the game with a 10-0 run.
But the Volunteers fought off the charge to reach the title game for the first time since defeating Texas A&M 65-50 in the 2022 edition.
“We made a few mistakes down the stretch, but we all stayed calm in the moment,” Gainey said. “Just made sure we got to the next play and did what we had to do.”
This is Florida’s second straight appearance in the SEC title game. The Gators lost 86-67 to Auburn last season.
