Gainesville, Fla. — The No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s opening in SEC play was daunting. They began on the road versus No. then-ranked No. 10 Kentucky, then welcomed then-ranked No. 1 Tennessee and followed it with another road trip to Arkansas.

It's No. 6 Florida basketball rallied back from down 14 points in the second half to win by a point at South Carolina

The No. 5 Florida Gators take on South Carolina Wednesday for the first of two regular season matchups with the Gamecocks, the first home-and-home series between the SEC teams since 2018. It marks the 78th meeting between Florida and South Carolina.

A pair of wins over Texas and South Carolina has Florida back into the top five of the latest KenPom college basketball ratings.

The Florida Gators (16-2, 3-2 SEC) and South Carolina Gamecocks (10-8, 0-5) are lined up for a Wednesday battle in Columbia. Tip time at Colonial Life Arena is 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Let's analyze

No. 6 Florida basketball will try for its third true road win of the season when it plays at struggling South Carolina on Wednesday night.

The Gators will have one of their top scorers taking the hardwood. Richard has averaged 13 points per game this season, the third-best on the team. To have to play on the road in the SEC would have been very, very tough with how good the conference is.

Florida: The Gators have had uneven start to the SEC with a victory over then-top ranked Tennessee and a loss to Missouri at home two games ago. South Carolina: The Gamecocks have never started 0 ...

It seemed like Wednesday was the night jubilation would break thorough. Instead, Florida’s Will Richard hit a layup with five seconds left to give the No. 5 Gators a 70-69 win over South Carolina (10-9, 0-6 SEC) at Colonial Life Arena. It’s the first time the Gamecocks have started conference play 0-6 since 2013-14.

The No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team earned a narrow victory behind a late go-ahead layup by senior guard Will Richard to defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Wednesday.

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Gainesville, Fla. — Entering the 2024-25 season, the No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team had their bonafide star in Walter Clayton Jr. Then, they added a defensive monster in former FAU guard Alijah Martin. These two were the talk around town the entire summer.