#1 Gators Battle Preseason #1 Wildcats for SEC Crown
Patric Young cuts the nets down after beating Kentucky on 3/8/14 in Gainesville, Florida
Does it get much better than this? The Florida Gators vs the Kentucky Wildcats for the SEC Tournament championship? The #1 team at the end of the regular season(Florida) takes on the #1 team at the beginning of the regualr season (Kentucky).
The Tennessee Volunteers gave Florida all the wanted in Saturday’s semifinal. Those guys are playing some great ball the last few weeks. We feel bad for the team that gets them in their bracket. Kentucky is also looking great. This could be a Final Four type game today. Both these teams have a legitimate shot at getting to Dallas for the Final Four.
When UK is playing with a point guard that likes to dish and a guy that can hit a three they are really good. That’s what they’ve had in this tournament. Florida, and in particular these four seniors, have had their share of heartbreak in net cutting games. Since the SEC Tournament Championship Game of 2011, when these guys were freshmen, they are zero for five. Many have suggested that a loss today might be a good thing.They won’t go into the Big Dance needing to keep a school record win streak going. They’ve won 25 straight so six straight won’t be a problem, right? Maybe those folks should ask fans of the Syracuse Orange about that. The Orange started the season at 25-0. Now they are 27-5.
If the Gators win today, it means they have no choice but to win 32 in a row to win the title. Many look to UK’s team two seasons ago when they lost this game, then rebooted and ran over six teams like a speed bump. While this may be true most times, with these guys we think it would be a bad thing to lose today. That would put them at 0-6 in net cutting games. We don’t know if we like their chances going into the Elite Eight with three straight SEC Tournament Championship Game losses and three straight Elite Eight losses. We like their chances a whole lot better of winning 32 straight if they go into this tournament having succeeded in a net cutting game.
A win today would do a world of good for UK going into the NCAAs. Not only would it likely bump them up to a five seed or maybe even a four, they go in knowing they just beat the overall #1. So once you do that, who else is there you can’t beat? A loss today and they go in thinking maybe they can get to the Elite Eight. A win today and they go in thinking they can win the whole thing.
It is difficult to beat a team three times in one year. Florida will have to do that if they want to cut the nets down today, Not only that, but they must beat them twice in consecutive weekends. Last weekend, they did indeed beat Kentucky to wrap up a perfect 18-0 record in the SEC. After the game they did indeed bring out a ladder and cut the nets down at the O’Connell Center. That was probably a reward for being the first SEC team to go 18-0 and the first UF team to go unbeaten in league play, but perhaps also serve the dual purpose of putting in these guys heads that they can cut nets down We shall see today.
This game will be like a Kentucky home game. Many UK fans who cannot get a ticket to Rupp Arena because they are always sold out, save their money and take their vacations to go to the SEC Tournament. If you watched the semifinals yesterday, you saw a sea of blue even though the game was played in the back yard of their opponents, the Georgia Bulldogs. But the Gators go in knowing they already beat the Wildcats at Rupp Arena.
Sportsbook has the odds on today’s SEC Championship game:
Kentucky vs Florida– Kentucky is +7 -110 and Florida is -7 -110 ATS. Moneyline has Kentucky +270 and Florida -340.
The odds makers have been underestimating the Wildcats the last two days in this tournament. They were a 4.5 point favorite against the LSU Tigers and beat them by 18. Then they were a 7.5 point favorite over Georgia and beat them by 12. We think this will continue today. Take Kentucky +7 -110.
