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Florida's push to the top
Gators earn yet another Top 10 road victory, this time at Alabama. They'll have a strong case for a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday. Also: Maryland surprises Michigan, a couple of bubble teams got key wins, and more conference tournament results and previews. Plus, Duke's top assistant will leave before the end of the season.
Samuel Lance
March 06, 2025
Good morning! Just another glorious day in early March where we’ve got Top 10 matchups, bubble games, and loads of conference tournaments to watch.
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1. Could Florida’s snag that final No. 1 seed?
Auburn and Duke are locks for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Houston’s nearly at their level.
So who’s getting that final No. 1 seed? Odds are, it’ll be one of three SEC schools: Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.
And No. 5 Florida sure made a great case with a 99-94 win at Alabama on Wednesday.
The Gators outmuscled and out ran the Tide, holding a 50-35 rebounding advantage and 22-10 edge in fast break points. Florida and coach Todd Golden now have a second top-10 road win for the first time in school history. Both have come in the state of Alabama.
“I think we’re one of the best teams in America,” Golden said. “And to do that, you have to go on the road and beat good teams. We did that with Auburn and we did that again tonight with Alabama.”
The best player in the game? Florida sophomore center Alex Condon, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds along with an emphatic dunk or two. First team All-American candidate Walker Clayton Jr. showed out as well with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Senior guard Mark Sears had 30 points in his final game at home for the Tide, but he was inefficient, shooting 10-of-24 (41.6%) from the field.
Florida (26-4, 13-4 SEC) will wrap up the regular season at home vs. Ole Miss.
Alabama (23-7, 12-5) will close with a rivalry game at No. 1 Auburn. Both teams are likely to get a first round bye in the SEC Tournament — which is given to the top four seeds. A rematch in the SEC tournament would be appointment television.
2. Maryland hinders Michigan’s title hopes + more results
It’s hard to win without making a field goal over the last six minutes of game clock, but that’s exactly what Maryland did on Wednesday.
