Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin controls the ball against the Wichita State Shockers in the first half Friday at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. [Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images]

ESPN College Basketball Analyst Sees Gators Improving

Alexander Vafeas December 4, 2024 College Basketball, Gators Men's Basketball, Gators Sports, SEC 101 Views

The college basketball season is in full swing after “Feast Week,” and we now have a better understanding of which teams could go the distance.

The Gators have been on a tear, winning the ESPN Events Invitational en route to an 8-0 start. The hot start has Florida ranked No. 13 in The Associated Press Poll and No. 6 in the Net Rankings. 

Seth Greenberg, a former coach at USF and Virginia Tech, was on Sportscene with Steve Russell on WRUF on Monday to talk college hoops and the state of the Gators. Here are the highlights:

On just how deep the SEC is Gators Basketball’

It is no secret the SEC is loaded this season. The conference has three teams in the top five and eight of the AP Top 25.

The uptick shouldn’t be surprising. The SEC sent a whopping eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last season. On top of that, the SEC added No. 22 Oklahoma and Texas (which made the tournament last season) over the summer.

The record for the most teams from a single conference to make the NCAA tourney is 11 from the Big East in 2011. Of those 11 teams, only two made it past the second round.

“I think 10 teams, maybe even 12 teams, are going to get in the NCAA tournament from the SEC,” Greenberg said. “I think the league is that good, that deep.”

On Gators’ Hot Start Basketball’

The Gators have been lights out offensively, scoring the 22nd most points per game. Florida is also ranked ninth in the Ken Pom for offensive efficiency.

Even with all that scoring Greenberg would still like to see more improvement from the Gators as they head toward conference play.

“I’d like to see them improve a little bit on their shot selection,” Greenberg said. “At times I think that’s probably not as good as coach would want it to be.”

Florida has also added plenty of scorers through the portal: guard Alijah Martin (15.1 ppg) and center Rueben Chinyelu (6.3 ppg).

Game Time

The Gators are home tonight against Virginia (5-2) at 7:15 p.m. The game is on ESPN2 and 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.

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About Alexander Vafeas

Alexander Vafeas is a third-year Sports Journalism student at the University of Florida who currently serves as one of WRUF's NFL beat writers.

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