Look, we get it, the last thing most college sports fans are thinking about is basketball right now. The NBA Finals are upon us, football season is almost here and the real ones are neck-deep in baseball for the summer.
But ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi makes an excellent point when he claims that “there is no longer an off-season in college basketball.” Monthly updates are required with the sport’s constant movement over the so-called offseason.
As the month of May draws to a close, Florida is trending down on Lunardi’s 2025 NCAA Tournament projections. He views the Gators as a No. 9 seed right now, a step back from the No. 7 seed Florida secured in 2024.
Florida is losing a good amount of talent. Replacing a First Team All-SEC talent in Zyon Pullin won’t be easy, and finding a big man to fill Tyrese Samuel’s shoes will be hard, too.
Still, the Gators have already brought in a solid transfer portal haul and [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] both announced their return within the past month. It’s a bit of a headscratcher to see Lunardi drop the Gators following those returns, but every team is spending the summer trying to upgrade the roster.
Clayton has a first-round ceiling and could help Florida climb up Lunardi’s projections with a strong summer. The season doesn’t begin until November, but the team does work out together in the fall.
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