![Florida celebrate Florida head coach Todd Golden’s 100th win and beating Mississippi State 108-77 after an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_145,w_2596,h_1460/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kkgb6ba2c328rsmgbd.jpg "Florida celebrate Florida head coach Todd Golden’s 100th win and beating Mississippi State 108-77 after an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
The Gators have arguably been the best team in the country since the start of February and Joe Lunardi seems to agree, but ESPN's resident bracketologist also says the Gators' No. 1 seed in the national tournament isn't locked up yet. Todd Golden recently said that he doesn't want to lose for the sake of losing as Florida heads into the SEC Tournament.
Lunardi was a guest on 'Pardon the Interruption' on Wednesday and said that Todd Golden's squad has been equal to his other three No. 1 seeds — Duke, Michigan and Arizona, but there's work to do.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 12, 2026
"They are the only team on the No. 1 seed line that could lose that spot if they go out early in the SEC tournament and UConn gets back to the top of the Big East by winning a rubber game against St. John's," Lunardi said on the broadcast.
Joe Lunardi says Florida has to win to keep the No. 1 seed
Lunardi probably isn't saying anything that Gator fans should be surprised by and if Florida continues its recent stretch of play, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. The Gators haven't just won games, they've absolutely run opponents off the court.
Since the start of the calendar year, Florida is 16-2 with 13 of the wins coming by double digits. Golden's group is averaging 89.7 points per game during this dominant stretch. Lunardi added that the Gators' surge has not only knocked the Huskies off the top line, but it's made them a big threat to go back-to-back for the second time in school history.
"Even though the Gators didn't have the greatest non-conference performance....bumping along while they inserted a new backcourt, they've really been excellent for the last 6–7 weeks and equal to those three other teams," Lunardi added. "They will be a very worthy defending champion."
Florida will begin its defense of the SEC tournament championship on Friday against the winner of this afternoon's Kentucky-Missouri game. The Gators have beaten the Wildcats twice in the past three weeks, but they could have a chance to avenge a 76-74 loss to the Tigers back in January.