The Athletic Likes Florida Gators Chances in NCAA Tournament

The Florida Gators are the hottest team in the country, and The Athletic took notice heading into the weekend.

Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. was everyone's All-American following the 2024/25 regular season. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators cruised through a loaded field in the SEC Tournament to pick up the championship trophy. After handling Alabama and Tennessee, the Gators turned their eyes towards the bigger prize and blew out Norfolk State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

With teams like UConn and St. Johns lurking in their own bracket, Florida has a tough road but has proven they can beat anyone in the country.

However, like just about any elite team, the Achilles' heels will surface at the most inopportune moments over the course of a one and done format. Those contradicting thoughts made national media address both sides. 

Florida made The Athletic's list as one of 11 teams that could win the national championship.

"Todd Golden has the best three-guard triumvirate in the field in Will Richard, Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr., a first-team All-American averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds in March while shooting 41.5 percent from 3,” wrote Brendan Marks of The Athletic. “Australian big man Alex Condon has been a revelation lately, emerging as one of the best screeners in America and a playmaking force at the top of the key. "

Marks is spot on in this assessment. The Gators started rolling at the right time. Playing well for a game does not move the needle. However, rolling through Top 25 competition lines up as a harbinger of good tournament fortune. 

Hidden at the end is Alex Condon. Florida will not solely rely on the Australian to put the team on his back. However, Condon's ability to run the floor belies his size. People forget that Condon stands almost seven-feet-tall. Bolstering the guard group are players like Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu. 

The Bad News

"For as good a coach as Golden is, and as strong a roster as he’s built, he’s never won an NCAA Tournament game as a head coach,” wrote Marks before the start of the tournament. “His only tournament team at San Francisco got bounced in the first round against Murray State in 2022, and last season, his Gators were upset 102-100 by Colorado as a No. 7 seed."

That history remains just that, history. Holding the Gators' current incarnation for past losses is specious at best. This Florida team to a man, is far superior than anything Golden ever coached in Gainesville. Inexperience will not dissuade the Gators from winning a national title. 

Bottom Line

The Florida Gators currently ride a high from how their season ended. If you look back at the start of the season, few if any people would ever pick them as a top team. Florida began the year at No. 21 in the Coaches’ Poll. Yet the squad ignored external thoughts and predictions and could be the most prepared top-ranked team in this year's tournaments.

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