I won't lose sleep if other SEC teams lose out-of-conference games. That said, a successful SEC is better for us. If the conference shows up and shows out, there are more at-large bids to be had and more chances to make the NCAAT. The SEC will likely get 8 bids this season, maybe more. In shit years, the SEC has only gotten 3 or 4 bids, and I never get excited over playing in the NIT. Over most of the last 40 years, the Big 10 and the ACC were considered the two best conferences. Recently, the Big 12 has probably been better, but in the eyes of sportsfans across the country, many still (wrongly) think of the ACC as the best, and the SEC as a distant 4th, 5th, or even 6th. So if we tie or beat them head-to-head, that gets noticed.
I look at it like this. The SEC doesn't give two craps about FL except what FL means from a revenue/prestige perspective. Many of its members have done everything in their power to impede Florida's athletic success. As for basketball, I'd rather win a bunch of games in conference than lose of bunch and hope that the selection committee think "oh well, they played in a tough conference, we'll cut 'em a break." As freakin' if . . . No. Screw Kentucky. Screw Auburn. Screw Tennessee. Screw Alabama and Georgia and Arkansas and Mizzouri and LSU and South Carolina and Vanderbilt all the rest of them.
Here's what matters most for the Gators to make the tournament and earning a good seed: Winning games.
I cheer for the SEC most of the time in the NCAA tournament. More wins means more money for the league and all the teams get some.
I doubt that UF is singled out for lousy treatment by the SEC. Back when the conference was weak, in the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 seasons, the gators went 24–12 and 25–11, respectively, and 8–8 and 9–7, respectively, in the SEC, and went to the NIT both years. All of our sports benefit from having the toughest and best conference to play in.
