After a blowout loss to Kentucky on Saturday, this is a Florida team that finds itself on the brink. Sitting at 16-9 for the year with a .500 record in conference play and with just one Quadrant 1 win to show for it, the Gators can’t be feeling great about their odds of making the postseason barring an upset down the stretch.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi isn’t going to bolster that optimism at all, as he kept UF in the First Four Out in his latest bracketology. The team even saw a drop within that group, as it was previously the First Team Out but is now on the fringe of falling to the Next Four Out.
While the Gators’ NCAA Tournament fate is far from secure, the rest of the league has to be feeling a lot better. Auburn is still projected as a No. 1 seed (though it fell from the top overall spot after a loss to Arkansas).
The Wildcats are one of the most notable movers after Saturday’s win, as they now join the Tigers on the one-seed line after an impressive stretch of basketball the last few weeks.
Several other conference teams are moving up, as well. Tennessee is now projected as a No. 4 seed while LSU is up to the No. 6 seed line, joining the Razorbacks. Alabama remains above the latter two teams as a No. 6 seed, per Lunardi.
The SEC is still expected to get six teams into the tournament, and that could grow to seven if the Gators are able to end up on the right side of the bubble. No other league teams are currently in that conversation, per Lunardi.
Florida has a big one coming up, though, as it travels to take on Texas A&M in College Station on Tuesday night. A loss in that one could spell the end of its postseason hopes, barring a stunning finish to the season.
[lawrence-related id=77635,77623,77614,77610,77545]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.