Florida basketball is riding high thanks to a stretch of success that has seen the Gators earn six wins in seven tries, with the lone loss coming by a single point on the road — albeit after another one of the team’s trademark collapses. Nonetheless, the national sports media is starting ot take notice of Todd Golden’s gang.
The Orange and Blue has moved off the bubble and into the thick of things among the major bracketologies of late, including the latest from Jerry Palm of CBS Sports. Palm has been a bit more bullish on Florida than his peers and continued that trend following the team’s second-straight win.
The Gators are now a No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region, paired up with the No. 10 Northwestern Wildcats for an opening-round battle in Indianapolis, Indiana The second-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles and No. 15 Quinnipiac Bobcats — who Florida beat earlier this season — also join them in that sub-bracket.
Florida had been seeded No. 8 in the previous update, paired up with the No. 9 St. Mary’s Gaels — Golden’s college alma mater — for an opening-round battle in Memphis, Tennessee in the South Region. Prior to that, the Gators had been seeded No. 9 facing the Utah Utes to open things up in the same region.
Looking around the Southeastern Conference, the latest bracketology update includes the Tennessee Volunteers (No. 2), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 3), Auburn Tigers (No. 3), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 4), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 7), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 10), Ole Miss Rebels (No. 11) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 11). Ole Miss is also among the “last four in” and “first four” categories.
Golden and the Gators next travel to Athens for a rematch with the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is slated for an early 1 p.m. start and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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