Florida Gators Enter Hardest Stretch of Season

The Florida Gators enter a part of the schedule that'll put their dominant season to the test
The next stretch of games could make or break the Gators high-seeded March Madness hopes
The next stretch of games could make or break the Gators high-seeded March Madness hopes / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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Gainesville, Fla. — The No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s opening in SEC play was daunting. They began on the road versus No. then-ranked No. 10 Kentucky, then welcomed then-ranked No. 1 Tennessee and followed it with another road trip to Arkansas. 

However, these next four games make that look like nothing. In fact, it makes that run look like a quiz while this stretch would be likened to taking the bar to become a lawyer.  

The No. 5 Gators will face No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville, TN., host No. 24 Vanderbilt, travel to the Plains to take the court against No. 1 Auburn and finally end in Starkville, Miss., to play No. 14 Mississippi State over these next four games. Truly as difficult as it gets when it comes to scheduling. 

Reasonable expectations for how this turns out would be around 2-2 or 3-1, but this is the SEC and anything can happen on any given night. 

Florida has shown it can handle this type of challenge. They passed their first test pretty well, beating Tennessee and Arkansas and only losing to Kentucky by six points in Rupp Arena.  

Additionally, parts of this team are playing their best basketball at this time. 

For starters, senior Will Richard has shown up big in recent weeks, whether that be on offense or defense. Just recently, he hit the game-winning shot against South Carolina while also scoring a team-high 22 points in this game. And before that, he played magnificent defense on a potential lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft. 

Another player who has been dominant in SEC play has been Alex Condon. He has logged three double-doubles over his last six games. Then, in his last outing against Georgia, he stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. 

Having these two, in addition to Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, consistently performing the way they are right now makes the Gators as dangerous as anyone in the country. 

Gators head coach Todd Golden has incorporated something new on defense that could be a game-changer for the coming games as well. He’s implemented a full-court press that has, without a doubt, helped his team over the last two games. 

The Gators have forced 34 total turnovers and have recorded 27 total steals against Georgia and South Carolina. Furthermore, without the press against South Carolina, it’s hard to say if they would’ve won, considering that the offense scored 22 points off of turnovers. Could this be a way to turn the tide in their favor in these upcoming contests? Maybe. 

This upcoming stretch for Florida will be its most important to date and ultimately will tell everyone who they are. 

Should they come out on top, they could jump into the one-seed range for the tournament. However, they could also crumble to the road environment and squander their chances at a high seed come March.  


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