Florida learns NCAA Tournament seed, first-round matchup

The Florida Gators are the No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will face the winner of Boise State-Colorado in the first round.

Selection Sunday was not particularly kind to the Florida Gators, which lost center Micah Handlogten for the season and the SEC Tournament Championship Game earlier in the day.

The Orange and Blue are the No. 7 seed in the South Region this year, according to the official NCAA Tournament bracket, and will face the winner of the Boise State-Colorado play-in game.

Should Florida advance to the second round, the Gators would likely face the No. 2 seed, Marquette, assuming the Golden Eagles beat Western Kentucky in the first round.

The top seed in the South is Houston, who will play the winner of Nebraska-Texas A&M, which is a must-watch first-round matchup. Kentucky is a No. 3 seed and a potential Sweet 16 matchup for Florida. Duke is the No. 4 seed, Wisconsin is the No. 5 seed and Texas Tech is a No. 6 seed.

Of course, Florida will be without starting center Micah Handlogten as he recovers from a fracture that left blood on the court Sunday. Handlogten thanked fans on social media for their support and is scheduled for surgery later this week.

Freshmen Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh are the two frontcourt pieces who move up in the depth chart. Condon already plays regular minutes, but now he’ll take on an increased workload.

Riley Kugel, the team’s top returning player turned sixth man, is also among the players who need to step up in Handlogten’s absence. Florida could turn to a small ball lineup, and Kugel is first off the bench.

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