Florida's SEC tournament quarterfinal win should frighten rest of NCAA tourney field

In a season full of dominant victories, the Associated Press No. 4 Florida Gators' SEC tournament quarterfinal win over the Kentucky Wildcats may have been their most impressive. And not for the reasons you might expect.

Florida (26-6, 16-2 in SEC) advanced to Saturday's semis with a 71-63 win in a game it was nowhere near at its best. That begs the question: If the Gators can't be beat at their worst, what chance does the NCAA Tournament field have of stopping their roll to a second consecutive national championship?

Poor Florida performance not enough to halt team's 12-game win streak

Florida did plenty to lose in its first SEC tourney game after receiving a double-bye. It shot 37.9 percent, the team's third-lowest shooting percentage this season. They also finished with three three-pointers, tied for a season-low, and had 18 turnovers, one off their season-high set in a nonconference loss to the TCU Horned Frogs (22-11, 11-7 in Big 12) in November.

It was the perfect storm for Florida to suffer its first loss since Jan. 24, but stringent defense, outstanding rebounding and timely shooting was enough to run its win streak to 12 games.

Kentucky (21-13, 10-8 in SEC) shot even worse, finishing at 35.6 percent, including 21.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Gators had a nearly 2-to-1 rebounding advantage, finishing with 50 to the Wildcats' 29. Four players had at least eight boards, including Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, who each collected 10.

Condon led the team in scoring, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Guard Xaivian Lee continued his impressive play of late, ending the game with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. He hit a big three with under a minute remaining in regulation, pushing Florida's lead to eight, 69-61.