Kentucky may have the national publicity and the No. 1 ranking, but Florida has the most impressive streak going within Southeastern Conference basketball.
Billy Donovan's Gators will be seeking their 21st consecutive SEC regular-season win tonight when they host Auburn. Florida went 18-0 in SEC play last season and opened this year with victories last week over South Carolina and Mississippi State.
Throw in the three-game sweeping at last year's SEC tournament, and tonight could be viewed as a quest for 24 straight.
"We don't talk about that at all," Donovan said this week. "For us, it's always about the next game and preparing and practicing for the next one. Last year's team had experienced players who had been through it. This year's team doesn't, so there are not a lot of similarities in my opinion to draw from with this group."
Last year's Gators were indeed an aberration in the sport, headed by the senior quartet of Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Will Yeguete and Patric Young. This year's team had to overcome early-season obstacles such as Dorian Finney-Smith's wrist injury, Chris Walker's suspension and awaiting the eligibility of transfer Alex Murphy.
Florida was just 7-6 entering its SEC schedule, losing to the respected likes of Georgetown, North Carolina, Kansas and Connecticut, and to the in-state tandem of Miami and Florida State. The Gators would have been 6-7 had it not been for surviving Louisiana-Monroe in overtime.
"For this group, it's going to be a process," Donovan said. "In the last two games, we've started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. Clearly the freshmen don't have a lot of experience, so there are going to be some ups and downs with those guys. Our two sophomore starters, Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, have never been starters before.
"Our guys are working hard to get better, and I get the expectation part of what some of our teams in the past have done, but this team has its own journey and its own set of challenges."
Guard Chris Chiozza and forward Devin Robinson are the freshmen who have started for the Gators, but the two leading scorers -- Finney-Smith (14.1) and Michael Frazier (13.7) -- are back from last year's team that entered the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed and reached the Final Four.
"We make too much out of the records, especially early in the year," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "Florida had new faces with new people and had young guys accepting new roles. Billy is doing what he always does, because his team is getting a lot better.
"By the end of the year, Florida will be one of the elite teams in the country."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.