Todd Golden’s team did not get the finish they wanted to the regular-season schedule, falling on the road in a last-minute loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, 79-78, which left a smudge on an otherwise fantastic second-half run.
Fortunately for Florida, the defeat did not affect its seeding in the SEC Tournament and hardly sent a ripple through the NCAA Tournament projections.
The Athletic’s Brian Bennett recently released his updated men’s basketball bracket watch, keeping the Gators a No. 6 in the East Region. The Orange and Blue are lined up to face the No. 11 Texas Christian Horned Frogs in the opening round held in Brooklyn, New York, where the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils will also face off with the No. 14 Vermont Catamounts.
Looking around the Southeastern Conference, Bennett’s bracket also includes the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, along with the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 4), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 4), Auburn Tigers (No. 5), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 5), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 10) and Texas A&M Aggies (No. 11); the Aggies are also among the last four in.
Florida is a No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, giving it a first-round bye and matching the Gators up with the winner of Game 2 on Thursday, March 14, inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Tipoff is slated for a late 9:30 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network.
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