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03/01 09:20 CST No. 7 Florida celebrates SEC title and sets sights on a top seed in the NCAA Tournament No. 7 Florida celebrates SEC title and sets sights on a top seed in the NCAA Tournament By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) --- Florida coach Todd Golden was last to climb the ladder. He made the final few cuts, pulled down the net, waved it around and then tossed it into the air. It could have been smoother. Maybe it was to be expected since it's been nearly 11 months since Golden and his Gators cut down nets while celebrating a national championship in San Antonio. Golden should get more chances to perfect his form in the coming weeks. No. 7 Florida closed out an unbeaten February with its ninth consecutive victory Saturday night, a 111-77 drubbing of 20th-ranked Arkansas that the team hopes will improve its chances of landing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators pounded the Razorbacks in the paint, outscored them from long range and clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference title. They partied on Billy Donovan Court with hats and T-shirts and then unveiled a banner commemorating their eighth league crown. "Just a great night for our program," Golden said. It was special because it was the only championship missing from Florida's resume in the past calendar year. Auburn won the league in 2025 before Golden's guys got hot and swept everything down the stretch. The Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) are taking shape even earlier this time around. "Love it. Didn't lose in February, got to try not to lose in March, either," Golden quipped. Florida finished Saturday night's beatdown --- which matched the worst loss in Arkansas coach John Calipari's career --- with seven players in double figures, becoming the second SEC team to accomplish the scoring feat against a ranked opponent in the last 30 years. Equally impressive: the Gators have won six in a row against ranked teams and scored at least 90 points in each of those. It's the second-longest such streak in college basketball history, only trailing the mark shared by UNLV and Loyola-Marymount, both set in the 1989-90 season. It's been a significant turnaround for a team that started the season 5-4, including close losses to Arizona, Duke and UConn, and was dropped from the AP Top 25 by the end of December. It simply took time for Florida to get everyone on the same page after Golden had to replace arguably the best backcourt in school history along with two of his main assistants. Golden even felt the need to make subtle changes to the team's offensive approach, essentially asking guard Boogie Fland and point forward Alex Condon to take fewer 3-pointers. Now, though, the Gators know who they are and are pummeling everyone in their path. During the nine-game winning streak, Florida's average margin of victory is 22 points. "When you know your identity and you know who you are, nobody can take that from you," center Rueben Chinyelu said. "I think we understood that in the beginning of the season when it wasn't going our way. Because you know in life you're going to get adversity. It comes in different ways. ... Just know who you are and don't get lost in that moment." Florida will try not to get caught up in its latest championship. The Gators can clinch the outright league title with a win at home against Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11) on Tuesday. They could cut down more nets at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, at a regional final and eventually the Final Four again. So they're counting on this one being a warmup or a walkthrough. "I feel like in the scale of things, it's a small accomplishment for us this year," Condon said. "This is the smallest one that we wanted to achieve. We got it done. It's good. But now onto the next thing, SEC Tournament, and closing out the season the right way. "We really want that 1 seed." ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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