A strong second-half surge by the Florida basketball team came to a screeching halt on Saturday as the Gators failed to finish the season on a high note. Instead, the Vanderbilt Commodores eked out a 79-78 victory on its home floor to give Todd Golden’s team their only Quadrant 3 loss this season.
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish has been tracking the top teams in college basketball this season with his top 25-and-one power rankings, which had the Orange and Blue at No. 25 in the previous update. Now, thanks to the defeat at the hands of the second-worse team record-wise in the Southeastern Conference, Florida is no longer among the upper echelon of schools in his rankings.
The Gators are a No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, giving it a first-round bye and matching the Gators up with the winner of Game 2 on Thursday, March 14, inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Tipoff is slated for a late 9:30 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network.
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