2013 Gators Men’s Basketball Preview

Coming off of a season where they were just one win away from a fifth Final Four appearance, the 2013 Florida Gators Men’s Basketball team looks to make some noise this upcoming season. Much of the Gator squad returns this year as they only lost one senior, Erving Walker, to graduation. Four seniors will be tasked with leading the Gators this year, the most touted one being center Patric Young.

Ranked #8 in the nation in the preseason polls, the Gators are definitely one of the teams to beat in the SEC. Yet, it is the #1 Kentucky Wildcats who are expected to win the conference due to the ridiculous amount of talent that is coming in with their new recruiting class. Upon looking at the Gators’ schedule this year though, another successful year looks very foreseeable. The Gators play five teams ranked in the Preseason Top 25 and they are one of two SEC teams (the other being Kentucky as stated eariler) that are even ranked. The SEC is not known so much for basketball as it is football, so it will most likely be a Florida/Kentucky matchup for the SEC title this year.

On the national scale. This should be another year where the Gators make a deep run in the tournament. With a team heavily filled with veterans who know how to perform in big games, Gator fans can be very optimistic this year. And of course, the team is led by legendary head coach Bill Donovan. Five SEC titles, two National Championships, and two SEC Coach of the Year awards are all that need to be said about Coach Donovan. The Gators have all the pieces to the puzzle with the veteran players and the coaching, and it will be up to them if they want to assemble the puzzle.

*Stats and Rankings accredited to Gatorzone.com