The regular season is quickly waning and time is running out for Florida basketball to make its case for an NCAA Tournament bid. With just one game remaining against one of the best teams in the conference, the Kentucky Wildcats, even a win at home on Saturday does not guarantee the Gators an invitation to the Big Dance.
The primary sorting tool used to determine the strength of Division I men’s basketball teams is the NET ranking, which plays a major role in a school’s NCAA Tournament résumé. The Florida Gators have struggled to climb up the list this season after a perfect six-win November turned into a tumultuous December that carried on into the new year.
Since the loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 22, Florida has been stuck outside of the top 50, albeit by just a hair at times. The Gators entered the road matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores ranked No. 51 and remained in that position afterward, as well as the days following.
The Orange and Blue has strung together a 2-8 mark in Quadrant 1 play, a 4-2 tally against Quadrant 2, a perfect 6-0 against Quadrant 3 and a 7-1 tally in Quadrant 4 matchups, marred by that 15-point home loss to the Texas Southern Tigers. While these are not the kind of numbers that inspire a lot of confidence in Mike White‘s chances of making his fifth-straight NCAA Tournament, his squad will get a chance to add a win to its Quad 1 record against Kentucky in the O’Connell Center on Saturday.
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