The Gator Nation had come to grips with Florida basketball’s inevitable exclusion from this year’s NCAA Tournament after an up-and-down season plagued by injuries and inconsistency. After the 68-team field was announced on Sunday, the Orange and Blue was given a spot in the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 3 seed, pitted up against Rick Pitino’s Iona Gaels in the first round of the Top Left Bracket.
The invitation comes after a wild day that saw head coach Mike White leave Gainesville to take the top position of the Georgia Bulldogs‘ program. In his absence, associate head coach Al Pinkins will assume the head coaching duties on an interim basis until the Gators’ final tournament game.
Florida has an all-time record of 13-12 in NIT play over ten appearances dating back to 1969, an era when the tournament held the prestige that the NCAA’s Big Dance has currently. Neal Walk‘s team failed to get past the Temple Owls in the first round that year and would not play in the tournament again until 1984.
The Gators last played in the postseason event in 2016 — Mike White’s first season — and made it to the quarter-finals where they lost to George Washington. Florida has not been bounced in the opening round since 1998 stretching over three appearances.
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