After finishing with a 21-13 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators are predicted to win the 2011 SEC championship, which was voted by the SEC and national media members today.

Florida earned eight first-place votes which beat Mississippi State with three first-place votes. Both Tennessee and Kentucky received two votes a piece while Georgia receives one. Everybody knows the Gators have been struggling with such a young team the past few years. It all started after losing 6 players after the back-to-back National Championship seasons in 06 and 07 and then the repeat of the NIT Tournament appearance. But you better think twice about Florida this year.

Not only do the Gators have one of the best recruiting classes in the Nation coming in, but they return all five starters from last year that include Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker, Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin.

The media favored the Gators to win the East with 110 points. Kentucky led right behind them with 95 points, Georgia (72), Tennessee (71) and then Vanderbilt and South Carolina rounded up the top six.

Now lets look at the West side. Mississippi state racked up 118 total points, Ole Miss led behind them with 84, Alabama (82) and then Arkansas, LSU and Auburn finished off the top six.

For the SEC player of the year, the media selected Georgia junior Trey Thompkins who had 18 votes. Ole Miss senior Chris Warren had one vote and Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight was chosen with one vote for player of the year.

The Gators are not known for much height but they have plenty of speed and sharp shooters who can also find their way to the bucket. Last season, Florida was led by Kenny Boynton who averaged 14 points per game, and Erving Walker who averaged just under 13 per contest.

Florida will play Florida Tech in a exhibition game on October 28th at the O’connell Center.