The back and forth for Florida’s men’s basketball team continues in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology predictions for ESPN.
The NCAA Tournament expert seems certain that Florida is set to field a strong team in 2024-25, but he can’t quite settle on a seed for the Gators.
After moving up to an 8-seed in the June update, [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s Florida Gators are back down to the 9-seed to close out July.
Florida was a No. 6 seed in Lunardi’s way-too-early bracket, held on to that projection through the first update, dropped to a No. 7 seed in the mid-May update and fell again to a No. 9 seed before June.
In his latest update, published on July 30, Lunardi has Florida facing No. 8 Clemson in the South (San Francisco) Region.
A betting man wouldn’t put a nickel down on that matchup coming to fruition, but it’s clear what Florida’s expectations are in 2024-25, assuming a healthy summer and fall.
The Gators are a middle-of-the-pack NCAA Tournament team, which is better than the national impression of the program when Golden took over.
Where does the rest of the SEC stand?
The conference boasts 10 projected playoff teams, ties with the Big Ten for the most. The Big 12 is close to that mark with nine.
Alabama leads the way as the projected No. 1 seed in the East (Newark) Region, but Auburn is a threat to overtake its in-state rival as a No. 2 in the South (Atlanta) Region.
SEC-newcomer Texas should immediately establish itself as a conference power on the hardwood. Lunardi has the Longhorns as a No. 4 seed in the West (San Francisco) and the Tennessee Volunteers in the same seed for the Midwest (Indianapolis) Region.
Arkansas and Texas A&M are No. 5 seeds in the East and South, respectively, while Kentucky and Mississippi State are the No. 6 seeds in the Midwest and West. Ole Miss is the No. 9 seed in the East, rounding out the projected Field of 64 teams in the conference.
Lunardi also included Georgia in his First Four Out.
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