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Gator Bite: Florida wins men's SEC Tournament
Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden. Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Gator Bite: Florida wins men's SEC Tournament

For the first time since 2014, the Florida Gators have won their first SEC Tournament championship. The Gators knocked off Tennessee, 86-77, on Sunday afternoon in the championship game.

With the win, Florida has all but guaranteed itself a No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday night.

Florida should certainly be the fourth No. 1 seed in the tournament along with Auburn, Duke and Houston. If so, it will be the Gators' first No. 1 seed since the 2014 season when they reached the Final Four.

In the win against Tennessee, Walter Clayton Jr. led the team with 22 points on 7-of-18 (4-of-11 3PT) shooting from the field as well as collecting five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Clayton was announced as the tournament MVP.

Along with Clayton's excellent performance, Florida had four more players in double figures.

Will Richard led that group with 17, and the three others were Alex Condon (13 points), Thomas Haugh (11 points off bench) and Alijah Martin (10 points).

Two key aspects of the win for the Gators were their rebounding and free-throw shooting. They outrebounded the Volunteers 39-25 and shot 89.3 percent from the free-throw line compared to Tennessee's 78.1 percent.

Even with the loss, Tennessee should be the top two seed when the bracket is revealed, and the Volunteers will be a tough matchup for anyone in the NCAA Tournament. 

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan. 

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