13. Florida Gators Florida struck gold in the portal last spring and bringing in a few more reinforcements on the wing could be beneficial for the Gators again. But they should have an All-America candidate at the guard position in Walter Clayton Jr., one of the nation's top scorers, and Will Richard is a double-figure scorer. Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and a hopefully healthy Micah Handlogten form a terrific frontcourt group -- but another perimeter piece or two would be huge. Projected starting lineup Walter Clayton Jr. (17.6 PPG) Will Richard (11.4 PPG) Denzel Aberdeen (3.3 PPG) Thomas Haugh (3.9 PPG) Alex Condon (7.7 PPG)
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UConn is the favorite to win the 2025 national championship at ESPN BET and Caesars Sportsbook, opening with +900 and 10-1 odds, respectively. However, DraftKings (10-1) and FanDuel (11-1) have Duke favored to take home the top prize next season, with the Huskies coming in at second (14-1) and sixth (18-1) on those respective odds boards. BetMGM has Kansas and Duke tied at the top (11-1), with UConn right behind (12-1). While there's a high degree of variance across the market, Houston (10-1), Alabama (13-1), Arizona (15-1), North Carolina (15-1) and Kentucky (18-1) are consensus top-10 teams on odds boards (odds shown via ESPN BET). UConn, Duke installed as '25 NCAA title favorites
Definite need for 3 more good players including 1 impact player. Right now we've got all role players and Clayton. I just don't know if Richard can make that leap into a #2 scorer. If Aberdeen is starting we're in some trouble. I think he's got potential but he's not 8 months away from being a 30+ minute guy. I think this is the ideal lineup to warrant this type of ranking: Pegues, Clayton, Richard, Haugh, Condon. Handlogten, Aberdeen, Amari Williams, and QUES GLOVER LET'S GOOOOOOOOO
Hate to say this because of their great play this year, but with the right portal results I'd still prefer Condon & Haugh to keep coming off the bench. They are both perfect players for a change of pace/energy, but the starters for SEC teams at the top will be too tough for their on-the-job training. While the defense we get from both of them is pretty good....expecting any consistent scoring offensively from them probably won't be enough. SG -Clayton, Aberdeen PG - Pegues, Pope, Collins SF - Richard, Haugh PF - Alexis, Williams, Reed, Condon, Haugh C - Omoruyi, Raynaud, Goldin, Wolf, Handlogten (if healthy), Condon
From the Athletic: 19. Florida Projected starters: Walter Clayton Jr., Denzel Aberdeen, Will Richard, Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon This is the epitome of betting on upside. The Gators have the core of an awesome team under Todd Golden, with a potential All-American in Clayton. He averaged 17.6 points and projects as one of the best scorers in all of college basketball next season. On top of that, they have a 6-foot-11 big in Condon who made the All-Freshman team in the SEC this season and is one of the most skilled returning bigs in the country. He can step out and shoot as well as score on the interior. We would bet on him as an All-SEC player next season. Richard is also a returning starter who averaged double-figures and can really shoot. Having said that, their offseason will tell the story of where exactly they end up in the preseason. They project to have four or five scholarships to use on transfers at a school that has had real success with them. Zyon Pullin is a prime example this past season, as he became a first-team All-SEC guard in his lone year in Gainesville. Tyrese Samuel and Handlogten also had terrific years this past year. Handlogten remains on the roster, but it feels like a tough sell that he’ll be ready for the start of SEC play after his significant injury in the SEC tournament. Look for Florida to go get a terrific two-way guard to put next to Clayton in addition to some further frontcourt depth.
ESPN's new projected starting lineup Walter Clayton Jr. (17.6 PPG) Alijah Martin (13.1 PPG at Florida Atlantic) Will Richard (11.4 PPG) Alex Condon (7.7 PPG) Reuben Chinyelu (4.7 PPG at Washington State)
With that lineup we might be missing consistent frontcourt scoring. Samuel brought us that. Condo will need to become a lot more effective on offense. Richard will need to be more consistent too. When he’s off our whole offense could be down to 2 guys: Clayton and Martin. That’s pretty risky, but guess we’ll see
We’ll see how it plays out, but I bet one of Haugh or Alexis starts at the four alongside Condon at 5. Condon played nearly all his minutes at the 5 last season. He is far better right around the basket on both ends. About the only combination of those bigs I don’t love is Chinyelu-Alexis. Just very limited offensively.
