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Gators switch regions in USA TODAY Sports bracketology update

Florida’s seeding is unchanged but Todd Golden’s team is now in the East Region.

The Florida basketball program has come a long way since its early 2024 struggles, now having won seven of the past eight games — and three in a row — and entering the Associated Press Poll’s top 25 for the first time since Todd Golden took over.

The success over the past month has catapulted the Gators from standing on the outside looking in on the NCAA Tournament to being right in the thick of things with less than a month to go before Selection Sunday. While the Orange and Blue did not gain any ground in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology since the last update, things are still trending well in Gainesville.

Following the road win over the Georgia Bulldogs, USAT still has Florida as a No. 9 seed but has moved it over from the West Region to the East Region. The Gators are now grouped with the No. 8 Brigham Young Cougars — who represent their opening opponent — along with the No. 1 UConn Huskies and No. 16 Eastern Kentucky Colonels in Brooklyn, New York.

The Southeastern Conference is represented by the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 3), Auburn Tigers (No. 5), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 5), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 7), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 9), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 10) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 12). Ole Miss is also among the last four in the tournament.

Florida travels to Tuscaloosa for its next matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against Alabama. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Florida basketball a USA TODAY Sports ‘winner’ this weekend

There’s no doubt about it — the Gators were truly a winner this past weekend.

Florida basketball is on a roll of late, having won its last three and seven of the last eight games played stretching. Following a weak start to the calendar year for the Gators, Todd Golden’s team has been hitting on all cylinders for the past month.

The latest victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on the road was not quite as impressive as a couple of others, but it was still enough for Florida to catch the eye of USA TODAY Sports writer Jordan Mendoza, who has the Orange and Blue at the top of his list of bubble watch winners from last weekend.

“Don’t look now, but Florida is getting hot, going on the road to beat Georgia for its seventh win in its last eight while picking up a Quad 2 victory,” Mendoza begins. “The Bulldogs ambushed Florida offensively in the first half, leading by as much as 11 in the first frame, but the Gators defense clamped down in the second half to hold Georgia to shooting 37% in the final 20 minutes. The backcourt duo of Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin is also taking this team to success, averaging a combined 34.4 points per game in the last eight contests.”

He continues, noting how the team has turned the table on what was once a floundering effort against Southeastern Conference competition.

“The Gators have turned around a 1-3 start in conference play with wins at Kentucky and a blowout win at home against Auburn in recent weeks, and while not pretty, the best thing they can say about its seven losses this season is they all came against Quad 1 opponents. Florida will have a chance to boost its resume and possibly get toward a 7-seed projection on the road against Alabama next week.”

Florida travels to Tuscaloosa for its next matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Florida stands pat in USA TODAY Sports bracketology ahead of UGA

Here’s where the Gators landed in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology update ahead of the Georgia rematch.

Florida basketball has won six of its last seven games — all against Southeastern Conference competition — and has subsequently shot up the NCAA Tournament bracketologies. Once stranded on the outside of the Big Dance bubble, the Gators are now in the thick of things.

In the latest bracketology update from USA TODAY Sports put together by Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith and Eddie Timanus, Todd Golden’s gang remained a No. 9 seed in West Region, starting off in Salt Lake City, Utah, along with the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, No. 8 Michigan State Spartans and No. 16 Merrimack Warriors.

The Southeastern Conference is represented by the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 3), Auburn Tigers (No. 4), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 5), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 7), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 8) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 10). Ole Miss is also among the last four in the tournament.

Golden and the Gators next travel to Athens for a rematch with the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is slated for an early 1 p.m. start and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Where is Duke in the latest USA TODAY Sports bracket projection?

USA TODAY Sports released its updated bracket projection on Tuesday morning, and the Blue Devils didn’t do enough to jump into their top three seeds.

USA TODAY Sports released its latest Bracketology projections on Tuesday, and Duke remained one of the No. 4 seeds despite a recent win streak.

The Blue Devils moved up to a No. 3 seed in ESPN’s latest projections, but the three USA TODAY Sports writers who teamed for the site’s mock bracket didn’t think Duke had done quite enough for that distinction.

Duke slotted in as a No. 4 seed in the East region with an in-state first-round matchup against UNC Wilmington.

Connecticut, Iowa State, and Alabama were the top three seeds in the projected East region, and the Blue Devils’ potential second-round opponents include Wisconsin and Richmond.

Arizona, Purdue, and Houston claimed the other three top seeds in the West, Midwest, and South regions, respectively.

North Carolina remained the highest-seeded ACC team as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest. The Virginia Cavaliers were the No. 7 seed in the West region, and the Clemson Tigers finished as the No. 8 seed in the South region. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons were one of the first four teams out.

USA TODAY Sports has Florida in thick of tournament bracketology

Here’s where the Gators landed in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology update after beating Auburn.

A recent win over the Auburn Tigers at home has Florida basketball moving up in the major bracketologies as well as back to earning votes in both major polls. A team that was once teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble now appears to have an inside edge into the Big Dance.

The Gators finally bounced off the bubble in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology update on Tuesday, which now has the Orange and Blue as a No. 9 seed in the West Region, starting off in Salt Lake City, Utah, along with the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, No. 8 Michigan State Spartans and No. 16 Merrimack Warriors.

Todd Golden’s team had been among the “first four out” category in its updated bracketologies for three-straight updates prior to the promotion.

The Southeastern Conference is represented by the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 3), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 4), Auburn (No. 5), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 7), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 8), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 10) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 11). Ole Miss is also among the last four into the tournament.

Next up for the Gators are the LSU Tigers, who come to Gainesville to take on Florida inside the O’Connell Center on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl title with your USA TODAY commemorative cover

Celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory with this commemorative USA TODAY cover.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially in their Red Era.

The Chiefs won their second-consecutive Super Bowl, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime on a game-winning touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr.

This is the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl victory in the last five years, cementing their status as a bonafide dynasty.

There are many ways to celebrate this monumental achievement, but USA TODAY is offering a piece of history with its Super Bowl LVIII Commemorative Cover.

KC Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII Commemorative Cover (USA TODAY)

Chiefs fans can get the cover framed, or as a variety of prints including wooden, canvas, acrylic, and metal.

Never forget the moment the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls, with this ultimate symbol of Chiefs fandom.

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Celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl title with your USA TODAY commemorative cover

Celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory with this commemorative USA TODAY cover.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially in their Red Era.

The Chiefs won their second-consecutive Super Bowl, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime on a game-winning touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr.

This is the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl victory in the last five years, cementing their status as a bonafide dynasty.

There are many ways to celebrate this monumental achievement, but USA TODAY is offering a piece of history with its Super Bowl LVIII Commemorative Cover.

Chiefs fans can get the cover framed, or as a variety of prints including wooden, canvas, acrylic, and metal.

Never forget the moment the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls, with this ultimate symbol of Chiefs fandom.

Celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl title with your USA TODAY commemorative cover

Celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory with this commemorative USA TODAY cover.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially in their Red Era.

The Chiefs won their second-consecutive Super Bowl, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime on a game-winning touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr.

This is the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl victory in the last five years, cementing their status as a bonafide dynasty.

There are many ways to celebrate this monumental achievement, but USA TODAY is offering a piece of history with its Super Bowl LVIII Commemorative Cover.

Chiefs fans can get the cover framed, or as a variety of prints including wooden, canvas, acrylic, and metal.

Never forget the moment the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls, with this ultimate symbol of Chiefs fandom.

SEC revenue increased $51 million year-over-year according to USA TODAY report

The SEC rakes in millions of dollars every year and the astronomical revenue earned in 2023 increased according to a report from USA TODAY.

As arguably the best conference in college sports, the SEC rakes in millions of dollars every year and the astronomical revenue earned this past year increased according to a report.

Per Steve Berkowitz, a sports project reporter for USA TODAY, tax records show that the SEC earned $853 million in the 2023 fiscal year, which is an increase of $51 million from 2022 ($802M). The increase is about 6% year-over-year.

Without factoring in inflation, the reported revenue earned in 2021 was $833 million. Therefore, after one down year, the money is flowing once again.

Texas A&M and its 13 conference peers each received an average of $51.3 million in the revenue distribution split. Last year, each school got just under $50 million at $49.9 million.

According to Berkowitz, with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC this summer before the next school year, the conference is projected to surpass $1 billion in revenue in 2024-25. With the Pac-12 ceasing to exist, more money will be split among the remaining Power Four conferences.

Another factor is the football TV package now being broadcast on ESPN and ABC as opposed to CBS Sports. For more information on the SEC’s recent revenue increase, check out Berkowitz’s full report on usatoday.com.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Florida’s status in USA TODAY Sports’ bracketology remains static

The Gators did not play this week, so as one might expect, did not make any moves in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bracketology.

Florida basketball got a much-needed breather from the grueling Southeastern Conference schedule just in time to prepare for a Quadrant 1 matchup this weekend. Given that the Gators were out of action, there were few changes to their position in the major bracketologies.

The Orange and Blue remained in USA TODAY Sports’ “first four out” category in its updated bracketology for the third update in a row following the bye week. Todd Golden’s team joins the Nevada Wolf Pack, Providence Friars and Colorado Buffaloes in that distinction.

The Southeastern Conference is represented by the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, as well as the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 3), Auburn Tigers (No. 4), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 5), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 6), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 8), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 11) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 11).

Florida will return home to host Auburn on Saturday, Feb. 10, inside the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.