SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2024-25 season

8. Florida Gators

The Gators are one of the more interesting teams entering the 2024-25 season. Few teams have as large of a gulf between their offense and defense. Last season Florida had the No. 6 offense averaging 85.6 points per game, but it also had one the worst defenses in the country giving up 79.2 points per game.

This year more of the same should be expected. The Gators return a bulk of its scoring and Walter Clayton Jr (17.6 ppg) is once again on track to be one of the best players in the conference. Will Richard (11.4 ppg) and Alex Condon (7.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) should provide some secondary scoring. 

The additions of Alijah Martin (13.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 spg) from FAU and Sam Alexis (10.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg) from Chattanooga should help improve the defense this year. Florida was one of the best rebounding teams last season, averaging more than 42 per game, and with the help of Martin and Alexis, the Gators should once again dominate the boards. Florida was also one of the best shot-blocking teams last year. The duo of Condon and Alexis should keep that trend going as well. 

It's hard to imagine that Florida takes a huge step back on offense. Todd Golden has the Gators playing at an extremely quick pace which very few teams can handle. Florida didn’t add a ton this offseason, but it didn’t need to. Golden added two very good pieces from the portal to compliment what he had returning. 

The biggest concern for this upcoming season is the defense. Last year the Gators struggled to stop teams from scoring from inside the three-point arc, allowing opponents to make nearly 50 percent of those shots. Sam Alexis can protect the rim, but how does his defense translate to the SEC? There's a lot riding on the offense this season, but if the defense doesn’t improve a little Florida might end up struggling to pick up wins. The offense itself warrants a higher ranking, but without a solid defense, there is a cap on how successful the team can be.