Florida and Kentucky will end the SEC season playing for the tournament title, just like pretty much everyone expected before the season began.
They were the top two teams in the preseason coaches and media polls. They finished one-two in the SEC standings. It’s a pretty good bet that one or the other will be in the conference tournament final in any given season.
It’s the circumstances that might be a bit surprising.
The Gators, strong with seniors, are the top-ranked team in the country after sweeping through the SEC schedule with no defeats in 18 games. Florida (31-2) added to its league domination with tournament victories over Missouri and Tennessee.
Meanwhile Kentucky, flush with freshmen, staggered into the tournament with losses in three of its previous four games. The Wildcats became the first team since Indiana in 1979-80 to fall out of the Associated Press poll after beginning the season on top.
Kentucky (24-9) has shown new life in the tournament, though, with an energetic victory over LSU in the quarterfinal and a grinding win against Georgia on Saturday.
“We’re not the same team we were two, three weeks ago,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “It took tweaking some stuff and making us more physical in practice because the games are becoming a slug-fest again. You got to be able to play that way.”
Now it’s up to the Wildcats to become the first SEC team to beat the Gators this season. They lost twice to them in the regular season, including a 84-65 defeat in Gainesville on March 8.
After that loss, Calipari said he made some changes, and his players responded.
“I feel like our chemistry is getting better,” Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison said. “We’re becoming a better team, getting better every game. We all know it starts on the defensive end for us. We’re just playing off of that.”
Since 2003, either Kentucky or Florida has played in every SEC tournament final except for two (2008 and 2009). They played for the title three times over that span, with Kentucky winning the matchup twice (2004 and 2011) and Florida once (2005).
Kentucky also beat Florida in the 1994 tournament final. In fact, Florida’s victory in the 2005 final is its only SEC tournament victory over Kentucky in 10 meetings.
The Gators are favored to do it again. Coach Billy Donovan has played down his team’s record, insisting the Gators aren’t dominant by pointing out their handful of close wins.
Still, the bottom line is the Gators have won 25 games in a row. Donovan said the Gators aren’t feeling pressure from the streak because they are looking forward.
“I think there’s a lot of different people that say different things in terms of, ‘A loss can be good for you, you need to get a loss,’” Donovan said. “I’ve talked to our guys a lot, and I do think this is the truth, that our record is just an indication of what’s happened in the past. For us, the reality is tomorrow (and) whatever the streak is, I don’t think our guys look at it. I don’t look at it that way, either.
“It’s the next game. It’s the next challenge. Anything that’s happened in the past really has nothing to do with it.”
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