Florida basketball started off the 2021-22 season with a six-game winning streak that had many convinced the Gators were a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Nearly two months later, UF is 10-6 with a 1-3 conference record and a bubble team at best, according to most projections.
The Athletic has Florida outside of the bracket in its latest Bubble Watch update. Auburn and LSU are the only teams considered locks for the tournament, and Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee land in the “should be in” group. The Gators are the first team listed in the group of teams with work to do, putting them ahead of Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas A&M.
The Southeastern Conference is too good right now for Florida to slip up the way it has and still be considered a tournament-caliber squad. Non-conference play was the time for UF to pad its numbers, but quadrant 3 and 4 losses will hurt come Selection Sunday.
Losing to Maryland and Texas Southern is pretty inexcusable. Thing is, every time we watch this Florida team play, we think there’s a pretty decent team in there, just one that isn’t good enough to not get eaten alive in this edition of the SEC.
This would be the third-best team in the ACC by some distance. It gave Auburn a real test at Auburn and nearly knocked off LSU. Colin Castleton is good. There’s something here. But in this league, this year, whatever it is simply might not be good enough.
Castleton has been playing at another level since the new year began. While he didn’t have the support to come back against Alabama, Auburn or LSU, the team took a step forward against South Carolina. If Florida can string together four wins before going into Knoxville to face Tennessee, the Gators might have a shot at their first big conference win of the year. That would go a long way in the next Bubble Watch update.
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