Fasten your seatbelts, Gators fans. The road to the NCAA Tournament is just getting started and Florida looks like a team that’s going to be on the edge of the bubble until the very end.
Over the past few weeks, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has gone back and forth including Florida in his projections, most recently reinstating the Gators into the Next Four Out — the fourth and final grouping of teams “on the bubble.”
Indiana State, Nevada and Texas join Florida in the Next Four Out, and Colorado, Gonzaga, Providence and Wake Forest make up the First Four Out.
That presents a bit of a problem for the Gators. The Demon Deacons took care of business against the Orange and Blue during an ACC/SEC Challenge matchup in November. That loss was perhaps Florida’s worst of the season, and it could cost them if both teams are in contention for a spot in the Tournament.
Looking at the rest of the SEC, Tennessee is a projected 2-seed, Auburn and Kentucky are still projected as 3-seeds, Alabama is 5-seed, Texas A&M is an 8-seed, Mississippi State is a 9-seed, South Carolina is in Lunardi’s Last Four Byes and Ole Miss is in the Last Four In.
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