01. Florida Gators
2024-25 Record: 36-4 (14-4 SEC)
The defending champions seem to be the consensus No. 1 team in the SEC this offseason, and I’m inclined to agree. While the Gators did lose the likes of Walter Clayton Jr, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard, they return the frontcourt trio of Thomas Hough, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu. Which is, in my opinion, the best in the country.
Todd Golden snagged two solid point guards from the portal to join his returning stars - Boogie Fland (13.5 ppg) from Arkansas and Xaivian Lee (16.9 ppg) from Princeton. Both have proven at their previous stops that they are more than capable of putting up big scoring numbers while also being solid facilitators - averaging more than five assists per game.
If Florida’s offense takes a step back, it should only be a slight one. The pace of the offense should open things up nicely for Fland and Lee to put up solid scoring numbers. And that’s not to forget about Ohio transfer AJ Brown, who averaged double-digit points in two out of three seasons in the MAC. Hough and Condon taking a step forward offensively will only help round out Florida on that end of the court. But luckily for the Gators, even if the offense isn’t quite as unstoppable this season, the three bigs should help the team out tremendously on the defensive end of the court. Hough, Condon, and Chinyelu averaged a combined three blocks per game as well as just over 20 rebounds per game. I’m not sure there’s another school in the country with that kind of returning production.
Other than some bench depth, I don’t have too many concerns when it comes to Florida. The addition of AJ Brown (13.2 ppg) from Ohio should provide some timely scoring from the second squad, but Golden did a great job keeping scoring on the floor at all times, regardless of lineup, to keep the offense humming.
With the ever-changing landscape of the SEC, Florida looks to be the team to beat as we enter the season.