It has been an up-and-down season for Florida basketball, to say the least, but it appears that the team is starting to coalesce down the stretch as time winds down on the 2022-23 regular-season campaign. The Gators scored their biggest win of the season Wednesday night against the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers for a much-needed Quadrant 1 win to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Not only did the victory at home resuscitate a moribund squad that had fallen off the bubble in recent bracketologies, it also vaulted the Orange and Blue back into the picture according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. In his latest update, Florida went from being left out to the middle of the First Four Out tier, jumping right over the Last Four Out group.
Joining the Gators are Texas A&M Aggies, who sit in the top spot, while the Oklahoma Sooners and Charleston Cougars round out the tier. The Vols fell from a No. 1 seed in the East region to No. 2 following its road loss to UF.
Next up for Florida are the Kentucky Wildcats who host the Gators inside Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, Feb. 4. The ‘Cats have won five-straight SEC games after a sluggish start. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST and can be followed by watching ESPN or listening to the Gators IMG Sports Network.
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