The Florida Gators are among the proudest and most accomplished programs in men’s college basketball over the last 35 years. Going back to 1990, Florida has two national championships in 2006 and 2007, three other Final Four appearances in 1994, 2000, and 2014, and four other regional final appearances (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017).
It’s just been a little while since the Gators were relevant deep into the bracket in March Madness. It’s been eight years since Florida last advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.
This wasn’t supposed to be the year Florida roared back to championship contention. The Gators were picked No. 6 in the SEC preseason poll, and were ranked No. 21 in the AP Preseason Poll. But from the moment the season started, Florida was on fire, opening the campaign with 13 straight wins and keeping their momentum throughout SEC play.
The Gators finished second behind Auburn in the SEC regular season standings, but they proved their might in the conference tournament. Florida won the conference tournament with an average margin of 15 points per victory, in the process dismantling what many are calling the toughest league in the history of the sport.
The Gators earned the final No. 1 seed in the 2025 men’s NCAA tournament bracket. They might be No. 4 overall on the seed list, but it feels like Florida is the best team in the country entering March Madness. Here are three reasons why the Gators will cut down the nets for the third time in program history.
Florida is battle-tested and playing its best ball at the right time
The SEC was by far the toughest conference in the country this year. The SEC had a net-rating of +22.01 according to KenPom. The Big Ten was the second-toughest conference with a +17.94 net-rating. It wasn’t all that close between the SEC and the next best league in America.
Florida finished 17-4 in SEC play if you count their conference tournament wins. They enter March Madness as winners of 12 of their last 13 games, including victories over No. 1 seed Auburn on the road, No. 2 seeds Alabama (twice) and Tennessee, and NCAA tournament teams Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri, and Ole Miss. It feels like Florida has already beaten half the NCAA tournament field this season.
Florida has basically only played one bad game all season, when they got drilled by Tennessee on Feb. 1 in a 20-point loss. Aside from that, the Gators have faced an elite schedule and dominated it at every opportunity. With sophomore big man Alex Condon suddenly emerging into a possible NBA prospect, and senior guard Walton Clayton Jr. establishing himself as arguably the best guard in the country, Florida’s roster is peaking at the right time.
Florida has star-power and depth
Clayton and Condon give Florida perhaps the best guard + center combo in the country. On our big list of the 50 best players in the 2025 men’s NCAA tournament, Clayton came in at No. 3 overall and Condon was No. 25. It’s conventional wisdom that elite guard play wins in the NCAA tournament. Having a great big man is almost as important. The best thing about these Gators is they have stars, but they can still survive if either has an off-game or gets into foul trouble.
Florida has two other very good guards in Will Richard and Alijah Martin. Richard has been a rock for the Gators for three years after spending one season at Belmont, and he provides dependable spot-up shooting (36 percent from deep), tough on-ball defense (three percent steal rate), and crafty interior scoring (68.6 percent on two-pointers). Martin played in the Final Four with Florida Atlantic in 2023, and he’s one of the best defenders in the SEC. The Gators will stick Martin on any hot perimeter creator, and he has experience guarding stars on the biggest stages. Throw in Slovenian guard Urban Klavzar who has been coming into his own off the bench lately, and Florida has an abundance of guards with different skill sets.
The big man depth might be even more impressive. Condon is a skilled passer who excels running the floor in transition, and will also take some threes. There’s also Rueben Chinyelu, a powerful 6’10, 260-pound center who can clean the glass and block shots. Thomas Haugh is another big who can step out and hit a three (36 percent on 80 attempts) while also providing a little shot blocking.
Some teams feel like they’re screwed if their best players have an off-night. The Gators aren’t one of them.
Florida is great at both ends of the floor
The Gators enter the NCAA tournament at No. 1 in offensive efficiency, scoring 128.6 points per 100 possessions. That’s the second-best offense of the KenPom era (since 1997) behind 2015 Wisconsin. Florida’s offense takes 43.6 percent of their field attempts from three-point range, and makes 35.5 percent of them. They leverage their spacing to open up driving lanes for the guards, making 56.4 percent of their two-point shots, which ranks No. 27. Florida is elite on the offensive glass (No. 8 in the country), and does a good job avoiding turnovers. They are regularly winning the possession game.
The defense is solid too, ranking No. 9 overall entering the tournament. Florida limits opponents to the sixth-worst effective field percentage in the country. They only allow teams to shoot 29.6 percent from three, and 45.9 percent from two, both elite marks. They don’t force a ton of turnovers, but the fastbreak is scary when it starts.
National champions can’t be great on one end of the floor, and shaky on the other. Florida is historically good at offense, and excellent at defense.
What’s the catch? The Gators got a tough path
Florida’s route to the Final Four could include facing back-to-back national champions UConn in the round of 32, taking on Maryland’s talented “Crab Five” lineup in the Sweet 16, and drawing Rick Pitino’s ferocious St. John’s team in the Elite Eight. Those are three really tough matchups just to win the region, and fellow SEC-bred No. 1 seed Auburn could be waiting in the Final Four.
It’s a hard path, but Florida is talented enough to run through it. The Gators enter March as the most complete team in the field with the fewest amount of questions. It could be time for a gator-chomping of the nets once again.
