The start of the Southeastern Conference schedule for Florida basketball is just around the corner with just one last game on the non-conference slate. With the flipping of the calendar over the horizon, The Athletic entered its first bracketology outlook for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Brian Bennett submitted his first “bracket watch” entry with Todd Golden and the Gators taking the 11th seed in the South Region, based in Dallas, Texas. Much like in ESPN’s recent bracketology update, Florida is also among the last four byes.
The bracket has the Orange and Blue up against the sixth-seeded Villanova Wildcats for the opening matchup in Charlotte, North Carolina. If Florida prevailed, it would face the winner between the Clemson Tigers (No. 3) and Samford Bulldogs (No. 14).
Other SEC schools included in the bracket are the Tennessee Volunteers (No. 2), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 3), Auburn Tigers (No. 5), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 7), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 6) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 9), plus the South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 10) who are also among the last four byes.
Next up for Florida are the Quinnipiac Bobcats, who travel to Gainesville on Saturday, Dec. 30, for Florida’s final non-conference game before the SEC schedule. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on ESPNU.
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