Are The Florida Gators About To Do It Again?

I want you to think back to early December.

The Florida Gators were the defending national champions, but were also 5-4 and in danger of falling out of the top-25 after another close loss, this time to UConn in Madison Square Garden.

The four losses were tight, with three of them coming to teams currently in the top-10, but the Gators looked like a shell of themselves from last year.

They had lost their otherworldly backcourt consisting of now-NBA players Alijah Martin, Will Richard, and Walter Clayton Jr.

Even after a late January loss at home to an average Auburn team, questions still lingered about the ceiling of this Gators squad.

Sure, they were a legit tournament team, but their credentials for repeating as champions remained dubious at best.

Fast-forward to Saturday evening, and the Florida Gators might be poised to run it back.

READ: Todd Golden's Month To Remember As Florida's Hoops Coach Almost Never Was

The Gators now have four Quad 1 wins in a row, including three by 19 points or more, and they beat a surging Kentucky team on Saturday while never trailing once throughout the game.

They arguably have the best frontcourt in the country, featuring preseason All-American Alex Condon, double-double machine Rueben Chinyelu, and projected lottery pick/SEC Player of the Year candidate Thomas Haugh.

But what makes Florida more dangerous than they were even a month ago is the play they are getting from their guards.

At the start of conference play, the Gators were looking at their two high-priced backcourt transfers, Xavian Lee and Boogie Fland, as sunk costs.

Neither could hit the broadside of a barn from three and while Fland was slightly more playable due to his on-ball defense, neither were worth their price tag and certainly weren't even close to replacing any of Florida's departed championship-winning guards.

After their conference opener against Missouri, the dynamic backcourt duo have lived up to their billing, Lee in particular.

Winning in March requires good to elite guard play, and the Gators appear to be at least approaching that threshold.

Will Florida win it all again this year?

I can't answer that definitively. The odds are certainly stacked against them.

Even if they were far and away the best team in the country, after the first weekend of the tournament, winning it all is basically a roll of the dice.

It's hard to win six tournament games, regardless how good you are.

But the Gators are as equipped as anyone.

They have the dominant backcourt, surging guards, tournament experience, and, perhaps most importantly, Todd Golden as their head coach.

There are dominant teams that have just as good or better claims to this year's national championship.

Arizona, UConn, and Duke are all teams who have beaten the Gators and look to be poised to make a title run.

But I'll leave you with this little nugget.

Torvik and KenPom, advanced metrics that are basically biblical texts to college basketball fans, both have the Gators as a top-five team, with the former having Florida as their number one team since the start of conference play.

Again, I can't say if Florida will repeat this year.

If I were a betting man, I wouldn't put money on it. But I have presented the case that they should be as feared as anyone else in the country and that's a lot more than they could say this time two months ago.