So Florida and Kentucky have found their way into college basketball’s final weekend. The two powerhouses of the Southeastern Conference have proven that all of the haters were wrong; the SEC isn’t a weak basketball conference, right?
Well, not exactly. Florida and Kentucky winning four games en route to the Final Four says a lot about Florida and Kentucky. It does not say anything about the other 12 members of the SEC.
Everyone loves to get caught up in conference superiority, or inferiority, in all sports. Somehow, people think Aaron Harrison draining a contested three to beat Michigan in the Elite Eight made Ole Miss better.
Ole Miss’s frontcourt, Missouri’s porous defense and Texas A&M’s inept offense did not all suddenly get better because Florida’s defense smothered Dayton. The SEC is exactly what we thought they were.
Florida has done what it is supposed to as the number one overall seed — and they are the only one seed left — and now the top-rated Gators get a rematch with UCONN in the Final Four. Kentucky finally put it all together to reach the national semifinal as an eight seed. But remember, Kentucky was the preseason number one team after bringing in one of the best recruiting classes ever.
Everyone knew Florida was dominant and that Kentucky had the talent to play at that level, too. Throughout the conference season, Ole Miss’s only two chances at a quality win were against Florida and Kentucky.
The only thing that has made the SEC look stronger is the way Tennessee played. The Volunteers made it to the Sweet 16 and came up two points short of the Elite Eight. But that has everything to do with Tennessee and nothing to do with the rest of the SEC.
If Florida or Kentucky wins the national title, the name etched into the trophy will be of the team, not the conference. The SEC doesn’t win games or championships; there is no SEC team.
So stop cheering for Florida and Kentucky — or Alabama in football — to win because you like the SEC. It won’t make Ole Miss better.
Florida’s Redemption
The common denominator among the last four teams standing is Florida. The Gators are now 36-2, but both of the teams that beat Florida are in the Final Four, UCONN and Wisconsin.
The Gators lost both of those games on the road. In the meeting with Wisconsin, Scottie Wilbekin didn’t play. Against UCONN, Shabazz Napier hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Huskies a one-point win. Wilbekin, who would have been guarding Napier, got hurt earlier in the game and wasn’t in for the final play.
Florida has a chance at revenge. Their Final Four matchup will be with UCONN. If Florida wins that, and Wisconsin beats Kentucky, then Florida would have the opportunity to avenge both of its losses. It would make Florida 38-2, and the Gators would have beaten everyone on their schedule. It may be the closest we get to an undefeated team in college basketball.
The other possibility for Florida is Kentucky, the team Florida has played the most this year. If the two teams meet in the final, it would be the fourth meeting between them. Florida has won all three this season.
It would be a bizarre ending to college basketball season if Kentucky manages to beat Florida, because the Wildcats would be raising a national title banner, despite going 1-3 against the Gators.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
