Is Florida a basketball school? It's headed that way as Gators eye repeat
Is Florida a basketball school? It's headed that way as Gators eye repeat
Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams, USA TODAY NETWORKTue, March 10, 2026 at 4:11 PM UTC
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If Indiana can be a football school, then why can’t Florida be a basketball school? The Gators were selling out the O'Connell Center this season, while lording over the SEC.
Todd Golden is looking to emulate Billy Donovan and guide the Gators to back-to-back national championships. As the SEC Tournament arrives, Florida has won 11 straight and is making a beeline for a No. 1 seed in March Madness.
Toppmeyer: March Madness loses its first Cinderella after 6 games in 6 days
Adams: No shortage of star power in SEC Tournament. What I'll be watching
In the meantime, can anyone stop Florida in Nashville?
On today’s basketball-themed episode of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams discuss top threats to Florida in the SEC Tournament and debate whether it’s hyperbolic to claim Florida is a basketball school.
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Is Florida a basketball school?
Adams: For the moment, yes. Do you not remember the Gators holding up the trophy at the end of last basketball season? When you're hoisting the hoops hardware, and your football team is 29-34 the past five seasons, that's how you become a basketball school. As long as Golden is on Florida's sideline, Gators hoops is here to stay, too. Florida has better luck hiring basketball coaches than football coaches.
Toppmeyer: I strongly suspect football remains No. 1 in most Florida fans' hearts, but who doesn't like a winner? Since Urban Meyer left, the football team has let down Florida faithful as often as not, especially recently. Meanwhile, Florida basketball is a top-five job in the SEC, and Golden has made it look like a top-five job in the country. It's not an exaggeration to call Florida a basketball school — the past couple of years, anyway. A repeat national championship would strengthen that claim.
Is Florida basketball a serious threat to repeat as national champions?
Adams: Definitely. Within a deep SEC, Florida is the cream of the crop. Florida's frontcourt is as good as any team's.
Toppmeyer: Yes. I put Florida in the same group as Duke, Michigan and Arizona as the top-tier national title contenders. Everyone else is chasing those four.
Who's the top threat to Florida in the SEC Tournament?
Adams: Tennessee. With Vols star Nate Ament expected to be back for the conference tournament, Tennessee becomes the biggest challenger to Florida's throne.
Toppmeyer: Vanderbilt. The Commodores have several sharpshooters, including star guard Tyler Tanner. If they get cooking from 3-point range, look out.
Also in this episode
∎ The hosts weigh in on Bruce Pearl’s vendetta against Miami (Ohio).
∎ The hosts discuss the latest on March Madness expansion talk, and Adams explains why he likes the idea of a 76-team NCAA Tournament even less than he likes the idea of a 24-team playoff.
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Todd Golden (and Billy Napier) turn Florida Gators into basketball school
Source: “AOL Sports”
