NASHVILLE — Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden hasn’t been shy about his goal of a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament or the fact that he believed winning the tourney title in the loaded Southeastern Conference was the ticket to ensuring that coveted spot for the Gators.
One more win in Music City, and Golden’s wish will come true — or at least halfway, with Sunday night’s reveal of the 68-team field ultimately showing which four teams wind up heading each region for March Madness.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and the fourth-ranked, second-seeded Gators pulled away from fifth-ranked, third-seeded Alabama for a 104-82 victory in Saturday’s second SEC tournament semifinal at Bridgestone Arena.
Alijah Martin and Will Richard each had 16 points for the Gators (29-4) in their fifth consecutive win, which sets up a championship showdown with Tennessee (27-6) at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. ESPN will televise the game.
The eighth-ranked, fourth-seeded Volunteers beat third-ranked, top-seeded Auburn 70-65 in the first semifinal.
Florida and Tennessee split two meetings in the regular season, with each earning a lopsided victory on its home court as the Gators won 73-43 on Jan. 7 in Gainesville and the Vols won 64-44 on Feb. 1 in Knoxville.
Golden said in a postgame news conference that he believed the Gators, winners of 11 of their past 12 games, have now done enough to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA field regardless of Sunday’s result against the Vols.
“With that being said, another opportunity for us to get a really good win. Another big challenge,” Golden said. “A team that I would argue is one of the most physical and just tough-minded winning programs in America. Tennessee, obviously Rick Barnes is an amazing Hall of Fame coach. They got the best of us last time we played.
“Our guys will be excited. We’ll be ready to go. More than anything, it’s just a great opportunity for us to get a championship.”
In the semifinals, the Gators led the Crimson Tide 47-45 after a first half that featured 10 lead changes, but Clayton and Co. really turned up their play down the stretch. Richard hit a 3-pointer with 9:24 remaining in the second half to give Florida a 21-point lead and put the game out of reach for Alabama.
Chris Youngblood had 14 points for Alabama (25-8), while Mouhamed Dioubate and Clifford Omoruyi each added 12.
Clayton, a senior guard, shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range and handed out six assists, and the Gators were impressive on defense against the high-scoring Tide. Entering Saturday, Alabama had scored 90 points or more in 18 games this season, which leads Division I men’s basketball for 2024-25.
The loss derailed the Tide’s hope of winning the program’s third SEC tournament title in five seasons. With 10 wins over AP Top 25 opponents this season, a program record for most in a single season, Alabama still has a strong case for a high seed in the NCAA tourney, which could include as many as 14 SEC members.