Thursday’s loss against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Game 3 of the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament may have been the last time Florida basketball takes the floor this season. Despite a valiant effort without their team leader [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], the Gators tumbled out of the tourney early losing in overtime, 69-68.
Coming into the game, Todd Golden’s team was ranked No. 49 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Rankings, and even though they took the loss against MSU they remain in the same spot afterward. The Gators’ strength of schedule dropped a spot to No. 23 while the strength of record lags behind at No. 76 — a drop of five spots from before.
That is it for Florida basketball for now, pending an invitation to one of the other postseason events such as the National Invitation Tournament or the College Basketball Invitational — the former appearing to be quite likely. Selections for the NIT will be announced on Sunday, March 12, and the competition will begin on March 14 at campus sites. The CBI tips off on Sunday, March 18, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
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