On Wednesday, The Athletic released a tier list of the top men’s college basketball programs in the country. The Florida Gators landed in the fourth tier, but some of the writers think that the Orange and Blue should finish higher.
Thursday, The Athletic’s college basketball staff published a follow-up mailbag with the headline, “Did we rank Florida too low in program tiers?”
Brian Bennett mentioned that Florida has a similar resume to UCLA, which is in the blue blood (highest) tier, and Kyle Tucker couldn’t understand how Tennessee snuck into Tier 3 over Florida.
“How? Why? Feel free to attack my colleagues in the comments, dear readers. It is a heinous injustice,” Tucker opened. “The Gators made it to at least the Elite Eight in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017, with five Final Fours and two national titles in that time. Tennessee has … one Elite Eight. Ever. And no Final Fours. Sure, Rick Barnes has elevated the program to heights unseen lately. But they don’t hang banners (gawd, I hope?) for being ranked No. 1 for a couple of weeks.”
Dana O’Neil says it all boils down to one thing: national championships.
“I’m not offended by Tennessee in Tier 3, but I do think we did an injustice to Florida,” O’Neil wrote. “Every other modern-day multiple championship winner is ahead of the Gators, including fellow two-time winners Michigan State and Louisville.
“You can argue recent relevancy — it’s been six years without a second-weekend NCAA Tournament appearance — and consider how hard the job is, what with the concentration on football. But Florida keeps attracting pretty good coaches and, thanks to that pigskin, has NIL money to spend. And two championships are two championships.”
The numbers are clearly in Florida’s favor, but the tier list is already set in stone — at least until next year when it is recycled for clicks. Perhaps then the Gators will land in the tier they deserve.
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