The Florida Gators enter conference play with a perfect record, but the experts at The Athletic aren’t picking the Orange and Blue to win the SEC, or even finish inside the top three.
Senior writer Joe Rexrode has the Gators pegged for a fourth-place finish, with a 12-6 SEC record behind Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama. Rexrode also predicts a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for Florida.
“This might be the best backcourt in the country, the senior trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard,” Rexrode said. “A nonleague strength of schedule of 220 leaves some questions about whether the Gators can hang with the best in this league for two months.”
Florida will be tested immediately with No. 10 Kentucky, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 23 Arkansas to open conference play.
The Gators play home-and-homes with Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee twice over the next two months. Florida hosts Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt with road games against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Mississippi State.
The Athletic’s SEC projections
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| T-1 | Auburn Tigers | 14-4 |
| T-1 | Tennessee Volunteers | 14-4 |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 13-5 |
| 4 | Florida Gators | 12-6 |
| T-5 | Kentucky Wildcats | 11-7 |
| T-5 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 11-7 |
| T-5 | Texas A&M Aggies | 11-7 |
| T-8 | Ole Miss Rebels | 10-8 |
| T-8 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 10-8 |
| 10 | Oklahoma Sooners | 8-10 |
| T-11 | Texas Longhorns | 6-12 |
| T-11 | Georgia Bulldogs | 6-12 |
| T-11 | Missouri Tigers | 6-12 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 5-13 |
| 15 | LSU Tigers | 4-14 |
| 16 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 3-15 |
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