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No. 4 Florida Men Basketball clears the first two hurdles, starts in the SEC championship

As an off-the-ball wachmann, Walter Clayton Jr. scored further points last season. However, when Florida entered the 2024-25 season, which has been prepared for its strongest campaign for decades, it had to fill a whole: Point Guard.

The Gators had been led by Zyon Pulin last season, a graduate of All-Sec, when she broke through for her first year for her first year for her first year. With Pullin's departure, Golden turned to his most dominant goal weapon to make the offensive easier.

“It would be a lot for a young man to return to college, end his career and switch from two guards to the main ball handler and point Guard,” said Golden. “Not only that, but proud of it. It speaks for his maturity and toughness both mentally and physically that he was able to navigate so well this year. “

Clayton Jr., a senior guard who comes from Lake Wales, Florida – who once – the east coast to New York, New York, to play for Iona before he found his way back, is at home on Nashville. When he weaves between defenders and rules the ball with such an authority, he believes that he is his owner, and Clayton Jr. finds a gap and fire. This gone to No. 4 when an astonishing early deficit against No. 5 was Alabama. It never showed his face again.

Perhaps there could have been a more committed story here: the Gator and Tide Trading strokes for a NCAA tournament No. 1 Seed, which ESPN projected, was at stake. Two offensive Stalwarts (No. 3 and 4, in the nation per Kenpom) hit one shot after the other and filled up the lack of ratings from the previous Sec -Finals.

But that did not come into play on Saturday, much to Clayton Jr.'s loan for the second time in two weeks.

Like the case on March 5 – just 10 days earlier – Florida and Alabama combined to secure the NCAA tournament selection committee of the NCAA tournament committee. While the 104-82 victory of the Gator on Saturday was not as competitive as in the past week, Clayton Jr.s was similar.

The recently announced All-American First team (Sporting News) has summarized four direct appearances of 18 or more points. In addition, the senior has achieved an average of seven templates as seasonal breaks, a jump from his 4.4 in the rest of the year, which consolidated its place among the nation's best point.

“I just go into play and do what the team needs me,” said Clayton.

After the loss against Georgia on February 25, the Gator were inviolable. Clayton Jr., who has had a balanced evaluation attack in the nation since the collapse, which is based on a balanced evaluation attack (five different players with an average of 12 points per game) and remains Floridas Ringmaster. In the SEC championship, however, UF and Clayton Jr. try to achieve their most discouraging act.

There are only a few flaws in Florida's major in 2025, with the most remarkable defeat against Tennessee 64-44. Only weeks earlier, the Gators spent the top team of the nation at the time and beat the volunteers on January 7th with 73: 43. When the couple ceased for the second time, the offensive of UF was a shell.

A large part of this would be for Tennessee's honor, who is more critical of the competition on Saturday for a final exhibition in front of the NCAA tournament. The Vols Trotten Pro Kenpom The third largest defense in the nation and have designed perfectly so that they affect UFS greatest strength: 3-point shooting. At 27.6, Tennessee allows the lowest 3-point percentage of the country. With Senior Guards Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey around the Perimeter Clayton Jr. and Co. I have moved fluently in the past.

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“Tennessee, they are known for their physicality, how hard they play,” said Clayton jr .. “So tomorrow it will definitely be physical. We have to go out there and correspond to their physicality.”

The fight on Sunday is the last battle of two far contradictory schemes. With a second championship in the line floridas for 11 years and a place along the top seed line in the NCAA tournament, which are almost secured, Clayton Jr. and the Gators do not appear out of place. You have played often. Now it only means the best that it has in almost a decade.

Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @NoahWhite1782.

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Noah White

Noah is a spring 2025 deputy sports editor and copy desk chief. He is a major journalism in the second year, who likes to read and diligently deals with Tennessee sports teams. He is also a women's football expert at Liberty League.