Gainesville, Fla. – The SEC is currently one of the strongest conferences in college hoops. Nine teams within it are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, and four others have received votes to be a top 25 team. 

And, while the Florida Gators would’ve preferred an easy start to the year, they were handed an early test that consisted of the No. 1, No. 6 and a previously ranked top 25 team to begin their SEC slate, which they passed with flying colors. 

To open SEC play, Florida was tasked with traveling to Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY., to take on the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats. Unfortunately, for Gators head coach Todd Golden, 2025 didn’t start how he had expected. His team stumbled and lost their first game of conference play, 106-100. 

A lot of the loss boils down to their poor defensive effort, especially defending the three-point line, and missed free throws. The Wildcats hit 14 triples – half of them coming from one player, Koby Brea – while the Gators missed 13 free throws. This can’t occur if they want to win the big games. 

Some players or teams could’ve let this loss demoralize them and let it bleed over into the next game or two. However, that didn’t happen for the Gators. They made sure to use the agony from this loss and channel it into the next game against Tennessee. 

Just a few days after this loss, they welcomed the number one team in the country to Gainesville and handed them one of the worst losses an AP No. 1 would have in a while. 

Florida dismantled Tennessee 73-43 behind Alijah Martin’s 18 points, but it was the defensive effort that would be talked about after the game. 

The Volunteers were held to just 21.4 percent from the field in this game, going 12-for-56 overall. Additionally, their offense was just 4-for-29 from deep. It also didn’t help that they missed 10 of their 25 free throws. 

This extremely ugly offensive display from the Volunteers led to Florida’s first regular-season win over an AP No. 1-ranked team in program history and the largest win over a No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA since 1968. 

“It’s hard to say when you host the No. 1 team in the country that you expect to win, but I think our program did going into this game tonight,” Golden said after the game. 

Even if you expect to win, to win like that after a heartbreaking loss in the previous game is wild. 

But while they may have had a night to celebrate this victory, that’s all they had because, in the SEC, games fly at you head-on one after the other and will not wait for you to be ready. 

Luckily for Golden, his guys were prepared for Arkansas. Albeit a scrappy one, the Gators clawed out a 71-63 win over the Razorbacks on Saturday. 

And, despite another poor outing from Walter Clayton Jr., it was sophomore Alex Condon and Martin who stepped up big time for the Gators in this one. Condon stuffed the stat sheet against the Razorbacks, ending with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He also provided the kill shots against his opponents, dropping in a huge three-pointer and tough layup on back-to-back possessions heading into the final minutes of the game. 

So, despite many thinking that the Gators’ rather easy non-conference schedule would come back to bite them and cause them to falter in their opening SEC games, they came out on top and passed it with relative ease. 

Furthermore, being put to the test early and having two very difficult road games handed to them to begin 2025 will only benefit them as time goes on. Florida now has two straight home games and three of their next four games will be at home as well. 

Should they come out of this next stretch of games untouched, which is definitely within the realm of possibility, then they will be one of the clear favorites for the SEC. 

No, Scrooge you!

A 29-year-old Florida housekeeper robbed and assaulted her 83-year-old employer on Christmas Eve when the elderly woman said she couldn’t afford to pay her once-trusted worker a holiday bonus, authorities said this week.

Heather Nelson, 29, became irate when her request for a $500 bonus was rejected by her octogenarian boss — and decided to take what she wanted anyway, according to a press release from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

“Nelson responded by physically wrenching the victim’s checkbook from her hand, stealing a check from the checkbook, and then, I guess in an effort to ruin other people’s Christmas as well, stole Christmas cards that were set to be mailed out also containing checks,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the statement.

The housekeeper, whom Ivey repeatedly called a “Grinch,” allegedly grabbed the checkbook with such force that she nearly broke the woman’s wrist.

Nelson then allegedly wrote a check for $1,400 — and used the victim’s credit card to pay her rent and make other purchases, BCSO said.

“What’s next … kick her dog, too?” Ivey asked in the release.

Nelson was nabbed on Jan. 7 after the check cleared and credit card transactions were posted, Law and Crime reported.

“Since you were so worried about getting your bonus, we had some extra gifts for you, like a keepsake booking photo, a slightly used pair of shower slides and unlimited access to our world-famous one-star dining facility where you can enjoy absolutely nothing you eat,” Ivey snarked in the BCSO statement.

She faces a laundry list of charges, including aggravated battery, robbery, forgery, fraud, passing a counterfeit instrument and grand theft, according to court filings reviewed by the outlet.

She was held on a $30,000 bond and released on Jan 9, the outlet reported.

Florida State has retooled its wide receiver room through the NCAA Transfer Portal after multiple starters and contributors moved on from Tallahassee. The Seminoles will have an array of different pass-catchers to support quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos in 2025.

Earlier this week, former FSU wide receiver Darion Williamson announced his transfer to Miami (OH). Williamson entered the portal in December to explore his options elsewhere. The veteran spent the last five seasons with the Seminoles after signing with the program as a three-star prospect in Mike Norvell’s inaugural recruiting class in 2020.

This past season, Williamson appeared in all 12 games, contributing on special teams and as a member of the wide receiver rotation on offense. He caught five passes for 71 yards, including a 35-yard reception in the loss to SMU in September.

In total, Williamson appeared in 41 games, making two starts, and hauled in 35 receptions for 454 yards and one touchdown. His best performance with the Seminoles came in 2022 in a victory against Boston College where he caught five passes for 98 yards in one half of action.

READ MORE: Former FSU Football Standout Accepts Invitation To Reese’s Senior Bowl

The Tennessee native had a ton of potential but injuries limited his contributions over the years. He’ll have a chance to instantly play a big role on a Miami (OH) squad that is losing its top three wide receivers.

Williamson stands at 6-foot-3, 202 pounds. He’s expected to have one season of eligibility remaining. Williamson got an extra year due to COVID-19 and redshirted in 2022. Williamson played in five games that season but one of those appearances was in the bowl game against Oklahoma, which doesn’t count towards the redshirt rule.

FSU has six scholarship wide receivers eligible to return in 2025; junior Hykeem Williams, redshirt sophomore Jalen Brown, sophomore Lawayne McCoy, sophomore BJ Gibson, redshirt freshman Elijah Moore, and redshirt freshman Camdon Frier.

The Seminoles signed four wide receivers during the Early Signing Period; four-star Jayvan Boggs, four-star Tae’Shaun Gelsey, three-star Teriq Mallory, and three-star JUCO Jordan Scott. The program also landed USC wide receiver transfer Duce Robinson and Tennessee wide receiver transfer Squirrel White.

Last month, the program officially announced the addition of new wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr.

Williamson is one of 19 scholarship players to enter the transfer portal since the conclusion of a 2-10 season. Redshirt senior wide receiver Deuce Spann, redshirt junior tight end Jackson West, redshirt junior defensive end Byron Turner Jr, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Tomiwa Durojaiye, senior defensive back Omarion Cooper, sophomore wide receiver Destyn Hill, redshirt freshman defensive end Lamont Green Jr., redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Julian Armella, junior tight end Brian Courtney, redshirt sophomore tight end Jerrale Powers, junior defensive end Marvin Jones Jr., redshirt sophomore linebacker Shawn Murphy, true freshman quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, freshman defensive end DD Holmes, redshirt junior defensive end Patrick Payton, redshirt junior defensive tackle Grady Kelly, senior wide receiver Malik Benson, and redshirt freshman linebacker DeMarco Ward have also declared their intentions to move on.

READ MORE: Florida State Drops In On Blue-Chip Miami Commitment

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