Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m not sure what to make of the Bucks turning down a champagne celebration after winning the NBA Cup.
In today’s SI:AM:
🦌 Bucks win in Vegas
⚾ Another big Yankees move
🏈 Michael Vick’s new job
The SEC is loaded this year
The list of undefeated teams left standing in men’s college basketball is quickly dwindling, but the Florida Gators remain among that exclusive group after a hard-fought 90–84 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday night.
The Gators led by as many as 17 in the first half but squandered that lead in a sloppy second half before buckling down in the final minutes to escape with the victory.
Florida is now 11–0 on the season, joining the Drake Bulldogs, Oklahoma Sooners and Tennessee Volunteers as the only undefeated men’s teams in Division I. But the win over UNC was Florida’s biggest test yet this season. Although the Gators’ résumé includes four other wins over power-conference teams with winning records (Florida State, Virginia, Wake Forest and Arizona State), Florida had won each of its previous 10 games by at least 13 points.
The Tar Heels have struggled against quality opponents since beginning the season ranked ninth in the AP poll, but they’re still a talented team led by one of the best players in the nation in fifth-year senior RJ Davis. The game was technically played at a neutral site, but the crowd inside the Spectrum Center in Charlotte was decidedly in favor of North Carolina. At certain points on Tuesday, the Tar Heels looked more like the team they were expected to be at the start of the season than the one that has now lost five games (all against teams that are currently ranked).
“I was not pleased with the way we performed coming out of halftime,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “That’s really the first time all year where we’ve allowed a team to dictate the terms of the game, but credit them. I thought they were a lot more aggressive defensively and at trying to get downhill and driving the ball.”
But Florida never let North Carolina truly take control of the game. The Tar Heels’ largest lead was four points, and the Gators kept the game close enough that they were in position to win it with a couple of big plays down the stretch. Namely, Florida scored six points in the final two minutes after offensive rebounds to take and preserve the lead.
Florida’s 11–0 start is its best since the days of Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Al Horford. The Gators opened the 2005–06 season by winning their first 17 games and went on to win the first of their back-to-back national titles that year. They’re a long way from a national title—and even a long way from equaling that legendary team’s season-opening winning streak, considering how difficult conference play is shaping up to be.
The SEC is absolutely loaded this season. The conference has eight teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25, including five in the top seven and seven in the top 15. No team in the conference has more than three losses and 10 of the league’s 16 teams have one or zero losses.
Florida will get thrown right into the fire when conference play begins after the new year, playing on the road against the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats on Jan. 4 and at home against No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 7.
It’s going to be a battle every night in the SEC, which has emerged as the deepest conference in the nation this season. Last season, teams could at least pencil in a victory over the Missouri Tigers, who went winless in conference play. The Vanderbilt Commodores also struggled, limping to a 4–14 SEC finish. But Mizzou is vastly improved this season, boasting a win over the then-No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, and Vanderbilt is off to a 9–1 start with four wins over power-conference opponents. Whoever navigates that gauntlet and wins the conference will be battle-tested come March. If you had to predict who will win the national championship today, it would be a safe bet to say it’ll be an SEC team.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Chris Mannix was in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup final, where the Bucks knocked off the Thunder and made a statement about their NBA Finals hopes.
- Some of my favorite things I read this year were Tom Verducci writing about Aaron Judge. For our continuing year-end series, Verducci wrote one last time about Judge’s remarkable 2024.
- Verducci, Nick Selbe, Ryan Phillips and Stephanie Apstein gave their thoughts on the Yankees’ trade for Cody Bellinger.
- Matt Verderame took a detailed look at one play from the Bills’ win over the Lions that shows why Josh Allen is the MVP favorite.
- Notre Dame and Indiana will open the new era of the College Football Playoff on Friday. Bryan Fischer has more on the renewal of this long-dormant rivalry.
- Teddy Bridgewater coached his former high school to a state championship this season but is now hoping to return to play in the NFL.
- Michael Vick will be the new head football coach at Norfolk State.
- The 2025 PGA Tour schedule will not include a stop in Las Vegas for the first time in over 40 years.
- Kevin Durant isn’t a fan of the NBA’s new All-Star Game format.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Florida Picks Up Its First Signature Win to Remain Unbeaten.
