Florida Basketball finished third in the SEC last season. With good talent returning and a stellar incoming freshmen class, they’re a dark horse to win the conference.
The Florida Gators went 13-7 last year in SEC play and while they lose two starters from a season ago, their returning talent has reason to believe this team can win an SEC title. The Gators return three of their top five scorers from 2017-18, including leading scorer Jalen Hudson.
Hudson made quite the impact in his debut season, at times even sparing his role as a starter to make matchups work. As he enters his senior season, all eyes will be on him to lead this Florida Gators team to an SEC crown. Florida fell short of the conference championship game last season, losing in the quarterfinals to the Arkansas Razorbacks, but 2018-19 should end differently for them.
Despite losing Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov, the Florida Gators have a strong 2018 recruiting class on the way. Combo guard Noah Locke and point guard Andrew Nembhard give them added depth in the backcourt while Keyontae Johnson gives them an uber-athletic wing to work with, at least for now.
Given what’s returning and arriving for the Gators, there’s no reason why they can’t be a dark horse to win the SEC. Here’s a look at three reasons why they can win the SEC.