Gators' Path for No. 1 Becomes Clearer

Following Wednesday's win over No. 7 Alabama and Tennessee getting upset, the Florida Gators' path to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament became clearer.

Walter Clayton Jr. has sparked the Florida Gators throughout the season, including a 22-point effort against No. 7 Alabama on Wednesday. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Following the loss to Georgia back in Feb. 25, the Florida Gators path to a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament became murky. 

However, the path to a top seed in the tournament is now looking crystal clear after the Gators took down No. 7 Alabama on the road and No. 4 Tennessee was upset on Wednesday night. 

“This is a big win, obviously both clubs competing for the last 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and this was a big one for us,” Gators head coach Todd Golden after the win over Alabama. 

The Volunteers and Gators have gone back and forth on the No. 1 seed line for the tournament. For a stretch, the former controlled the last spot after trouncing the Gators at home to avenge a blowout loss at Florida a few weeks prior.

Then, the Gators made their voice heard with arguably the best win in college basketball this season, upsetting the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on the road, 90-81.

However, the loss to Georgia handed the seed right back to their SEC rival as the regular season began to wind down, but with Florida claiming the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday and Tennessee's loss to unranked Ole Miss, the Gators' path to a No. 1 national seed becomes clearer, but it's still not crystal.

For those deciding the seeding, they’ll have a hard time choosing between the Gators and Volunteers. Both have their metrics and big time wins. 

In the Gators' case, they have probably the best pair of wins in the country, having thwarted both of the top dogs from the state of Alabama (Crimson Tide and Tigers) after demolishing the then-No.1 Volunteers near the beginning of SEC play. 

Not only has Florida beaten an AP No. 1-ranked team twice, but they also have two top 10 true road wins after the win over the Crimson Tide.

“But I think we’re one of the best teams in America, and to do that you have to go on the road and beat good teams,” Golden said. “We did that with Auburn, and we did that tonight with Alabama.”

The one thing hurting Florida is going to be the non-conference schedule. It was somewhat out of their control given that they couldn't predict the teams they scheduled to not live up to standard — a la North Carolina and Florida State —but it still was a weak one, nonetheless. 

Though, it should count for something the way they handled what’s been put in front of them. They are a perfect 19-0 in quad 2-4 games and are 7-4 in quad 1 games. This level of performance has them ranked fourth in the country in NET rating. 

But even with all this, it’s still going to be a battle for that final top spot. Tennessee is only a spot back in the NET ratings and, like Florida, are undefeated in quad 2-4 games. 

They also have big wins on their resume, such as Alabama, Missouri, Florida and Texas A&M.  

Florida will need to close the season out strong, making sure not to slip up against Ole Miss on Saturday and putting up a good showing in the SEC Tournament. Should they do that, then it would be more surprising than not to see them outside the top four overall seeds.