ESPN breaks SEC basketball into tiers

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The Florida Gators have been a top-10 team for most of the 2024-25 college basketball season, but ESPN believes that the program is in the third tier of the Southeastern Conference.

While it may seem odd to place Florida anywhere but the top tier among Division I teams, it should be noted that the SEC is unlike any other conference. More than half the conference is ranked inside the top 25 and all but three of the 16 SEC programs are projected to make the NCAA Tournament field. A third-tier SEC team would likely be at the top of any other conference.

In fact, the SEC is so loaded with talent that ESPN considers programs with “realistic final four hopes” as the third tier of the conference. Florida and Tennessee are the two that fit into that category behind Auburn in the “national championship favorite” first tier and Alabama in the “clear path to a national title” second tier.

“This (Florida) team has the depth and balance to earn the program’s first trip to the Final Four since 2014,” ESPN staff writer Myron Medcalf wrote. “Alijah Martin, who starred for Florida Atlantic during its 2023 Final Four run, has been a complementary piece for a Florida backcourt led by Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, two returnees from last season. The Gators are top-15 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, per KenPom, mostly because of their depth.”

Florida hasn’t been a legitimate Final Four contender for nearly a decade. The 2014 team made it there as a No. 1 seed and the 2017 team lost in the Elite Eight as a No. 4 seed. Since then, Florida has only made the NCAA Tournament field four times and has not advanced past the Round of 32.

The Gators should be happy with ESPN’s assessment, but this team wants to win it all and has the talent to do so. That’s why being in Tier 3 feels like a slight, even though it’s a high compliment. Florida has a chance to prove itself this weekend with a road game against No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, though. An upset would shake this tier list up…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/espn-breaks-sec-basketball-tiers-110619884.html

Author : Gators Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-08 11:06:00

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