Tuesday, January 29, 2013

It’s Only the End of January

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Recently, the Florida Gators seem to be unstoppable. Throughout the season, they have been crawling up the rankings in the AP Top 25 Poll and came in at No. 4 in the latest AP Poll behind Michigan, Kansas, and Indiana. They are currently on an eight game winning streak, with six of their wins being over SEC teams, which is great, but it is important to remember that it is still January. The NCAA Tournament is a long ways away and a lot can happen between now and then.

The SEC isn’t as strong as it has been in previous seasons, but it is important for Florida to keep dominating the conference as well as have a good showing in the SEC Conference Tournament so they are sitting pretty when Selection Sunday rolls around. The Gators have 12 games left in the regular season. Some will be a cake-walk, others will be more competitive, and a few will be hard battles. Of their remaining games, these are the three I think are the most important to win:

February 2nd vs. Ole Miss

Florida and Ole Miss are both currently 6-0 in the SEC which is why this is a key matchup. Winning this game puts the Gators one step closer to grabbing the top seed in the SEC Tournament.

February 19th at Missouri

After a 31 point victory mid-January, it doesn’t seem like this should be a noteworthy game, but it is. A large victory at home doesn’t mean much if you can’t prove yourself on the road too.

March 9th at Kentucky

Two of Florida’s remaining games are against Kentucky, but the road game is the most significant. It is the finally regular season game for both teams and the young Kentucky team can do a lot of growing up before then.