Are the Florida Gators a Top Five Program on the Hardwood?

Despite being the SEC’s most recent national champions, the opinion on the Florida Gators' job from their peers is not as favorable as one would imagine, according to an anonymous poll released by the Field of 68 on Wednesday.

The results of the anonymous poll tabbed Florida as the fifth-best job in the conference, trailing Kentucky, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.

🔥 SEC JOB RANKINGS 🔥

We anonymously polled coaches and asked them to rank every job in the league! 👀

RANKINGS HERE ⬇️https://t.co/Anm4hH640y pic.twitter.com/sb6GllR1Wk
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 4, 2026

That begs the question: are the Gators really the fifth-best job in the SEC? Or are these other coaches minimizing the efforts from all those involved with the program?

An important factor for each job is the advantage created by the fan atmosphere.

Fans of Florida show up night after night for their team, providing the Gators with one of the best home-court advantages in all of college basketball. Since head coach Todd Golden’s arrival, the Gators are 39-3 in Exactech Arena, which is why he singled out the Gator faithful last Sunday after the win over Alabama.

“I think they gave us a huge lift. And when we went on a little bit of a run, they did a great job of supporting us,” Golden said. “It's an incredible homecourt advantage, 39 out of 42.”

However, the key factor in this ranking must be the historical achievements of each program.

A look at all 16 SEC teams' history in the NCAA Tournament

Arkansas, Florida, and Kentucky are the only teams to win national titles, while Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt are the only teams to have never made a Final Four. pic.twitter.com/8sPNYvbCwz
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) February 4, 2026

Florida is second in the league in national championships (three), national championship appearances (four) and Final Fours (six). They are third in Elite Eight (10) and Sweet 16 (12) appearances. And, they have managed all this while being seventh in the SEC in tournament appearances (25).

Compare that to the likes of Texas and Tennessee, which both finished higher than Florida in the poll, but fall short of Florida in several categories.

Texas and Tennessee have reached the NCAA Tournament 36 and 27 times, respectively. Yet, neither has set foot in a title game in program history.

Moreover, Florida has reached more Final Fours and Elite Eights than the two combined. Texas is the only one of the two to get as far as the Final Four, doing so once. As for the Elite Eights, Texas has made it that far five times and Tennessee has done so three times.

There's really no objective reality where Florida is worse than 3.

Florida's won national titles in the NIL Era and non-NIL era, is Top 10 nationally in wins and NCAA Tournament wins this century, and is the SEC's 2nd winningest program since the introduction of the 3 pointer. https://t.co/vnL8gZjeqX
— Florida Basketball Hour (@FloridaBBHour) February 4, 2026

The one thorn in the Gators' side compared to the other four schools in the top five could be NIL commitments.

Texas is one of the highest spenders at the college level on NIL across every sport. Kentucky just this season showed its commitment by putting together one of the most expensive rosters in America. Arkansas has head coach John Calipari at the helm and has signed some of the top-rated high school prospects to pair them with experienced transfers. Tennessee is not shy to put its money where its mouth is, either.

None of that means the Gators aren’t competing in this area, though.

Transfers Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee commanded high dollar amounts, fending off NBA competition for Fland while beating out Kansas for Lee this offseason. The Gators also forked up significant deals to retain Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon, both of whom were potential first-round picks in last year’s draft.

Golden even signed two highly rated freshmen from the last recruiting cycle, bringing in Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram II.

In the end, these rankings do not dictate who the best program is or will be in the future. It is merely opinions from different coaches.

Nonetheless, Florida is clearly a top three job in the SEC at worst based on several different factors.

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