The month of March is just a few weeks away and the NCAA Tournament brackets are starting to heat up in anticipation of this year’s edition of the Big Dance.
With conference tournaments scheduled to start in early-to-mid March, there is still plenty of basketball to be played but the postseason picture is slowly coming into focus. ESPN’s John Gasaway recently put together his bubble watch outlook, which included the Florida Gators and their Southeastern Conference peers.
According to Gasaway, the Orange and Blue are among four teams with “work to do” to get into the tournament.
“When you play nothing but extremely close games, any winning streak will be brief,” Gasaway begins. “Florida won overtime contests at home against Georgia and on the road at Kentucky only to come up short by one point at Texas A&M. Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin each missed what might have been a game-winner in the final seconds.
“At 15-7, the Gators are being projected as a No. 11 seed, one that’s powered in part by the offensive rebounding of Tyrese Samuel.”
Todd Golden’s gang is joined by the Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies in the category. The Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers were all listed as “locks” while the South Carolina Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats represent the schools that “should be in”.
The Gators return home to host Auburn inside the O’Connell Center on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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