Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The last time the Florida men's basketball team went into the month of March (the one known for its "madness") with 20 victories already banked was back in 2017. Seven years is a pretty long time, especially considering the program during its Billy Donovan heyday pretty much used to annually roll into regular season's final month with 20-plus wins.
 
The 2023-24 Gators (19-8, 9-5), ranked 24^th in the nation, have a chance to hit that number Wednesday night against last-place Missouri (8-19, 0-14) in their Southeastern Conference matchup at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
 
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
 
Don't let the Tigers' record mislead. They have a handful of perimeter scorers that, if allowed to heat up, have the potential to make things difficult on UF, especially if the home team, say, comes out a little flat (not a trait of this bunch, but always a danger against an inferior foe), has another sub-standard rebounding performance (like the previous two games) or gets sloppy with its ball security (rare for these Gators, but done a few times).
 
In the two practices since defeating Vanderbilt 77-64 at home Saturday, Coach Todd Golden and his staff have talked about maintaining the focus that has been mostly a constant through the current run of eight wins over the previous 10 games. The slippage in rebounding was addressed Tuesday, as was the team's struggles against some full-court pressure against a Commodores team with just two wins in league play.
 
"We try to be super consistent with our approach and with the way we prepare for games. Every team in this league is really good," said Golden, whose club defeated Mizzou 79-67 on the road Jan. 20. "I think it would be really, really silly for us to feel like Missouri walking in here is an easy game. We're not there yet. We're obviously having a good year, but we're by no means at a place where we can just show up and get on the court and be OK. … I'll be super, super disappointed if we're talking on Friday and our team wasn't ready to play."
 
Should Florida prevail, it would be a 10^th victory in league play and guarantee the Gators' first winning record in the SEC since the pandemic-abbreviated 2021 season and the most victories in the conference since the COVID-halted 2020 campaign, with still three games to go.
 
That's the here and now, but there's another number – one of historical interest more than any '24 season significance – in the balance. A Florida win would pull the program to .500 all-time in SEC regular-season play for the first time since … wait for it … ready? 
 
Feb. 7, 1936. 
 
Florida, which joined the league in 1932, began that day 13-13 all-time against conference teams and lost 40-32 at Georgia. Nearly a half-century later, on Jan. 7, 1984, the Gators were 132 below .500. That was an all-time low, as it turned out.

They'll go to the O'Dome Wednesday with an all-time league mark of 688-689. 
 
The 40-year comeback is near complete, thanks especially to Donovan (200 conference wins over 19 seasons) and Mike White (72 in seven) with their quarter century-plus of winning. The Gators are a step away from SEC Break Even Land.
 
At least until the next game. 

CHARTING THE GATORS
All-time winning percentage and records of SEC teams (both present and past) and where the Gators fit in.
Records are for regular-season conference games only from 1932-2024.

Pct.	Team	Won-Lost Record	Years	SEC titles
.774	Kentucky	1,056-308	91	49
.570	Tennessee	799-602	91	10
	Alabama	851-642	91	9
.527	Arkansas	289-259	33	2
.510	Texas A&M	104-100	12	1
.504	LSU	729-717	92	11
.503	Vanderbilt	718-709	92	3
.499	Florida	688-689	91	7
.493	Georgia Tech	201-207 (left SEC in 1964)	32	1
.461	Auburn	664-774	91	4
.436	Mississippi State	637-824	91	6
	Tulane	195-252 (left SEC in 1966)	34	0
.406	South Carolina	222-324	33	1
.402	Georgia	573-852	92	1
.387	Ole Miss	561-890	91	0
.324	Missouri	65-136	12	0
.030	Sewanee	3-76 (left SEC in 1940)	8	0

Note: Kentucky played fewer SEC games than the rest of the league throughout the 1940s, including none during '43-44 season.