Things did not quite go the way the Gator Nation had hoped in [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s debut campaign as Florida basketball’s head coach, finishing the season with an even 16-16 record overall while going 9-10 in Southeastern Conference play — including its second-round loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thursday.
The curtains have not quite fallen yet on the Orange and Blue’s schedule, however, as the team put together a good enough résumé to hopefully receive a bid in the National Invitation Tournament. Currently ranked No 61 in the NET rankings, Florida put together a 2-13 record against Quadrant 1 teams, 1-2 against Quad 2, 9-1 against Quad 3 and 4-0 against Quad 4 — which essentially means that the Gators only had one truly bad loss.
After the defeat on Thursday, Golden reinforced his resolve to keep his guys playing for as long as he can, especially if they receive an invite to the NIT.
“Any time you get an opportunity to compete, you better step up and grab it. As long as I’m the head coach at Florida, we’ll compete,” Florida’s head coach offered. “We’re excited to see.”
Selections for the NIT will be announced on Sunday, March 12, at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPNU and the competition will begin on March 14 at campus sites. Fans subscribed to ESPN+ will also be able to stream the show while there is an additional option to stream by subscribing to fuboTV, which offers a 7-day free trial for new users when you sign up.
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