There are still two months separating now from the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament but bracket predictions are all the rage at the moment. For members of the Gator Nation, it is a great time to be following their beloved Orange and Blue’s outlook after the start of the Southeastern Confernece schedule.
The Florida squad is out to one of its best starts in the history of the program, posting a 15-1 record so far that is only blemished by a 106-100 shootout loss on the road at the Kentucky Wildcats. A historic beatdown of the then-top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in the following game quieted any criticisms of Todd Golden’s team.
With an ample sample size of games now in the book, plus three Southeastern Confernece matchups, the Big Dance outlook is starting to come into focus — though there is plenty of time for things to change. The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode released his latest NCAA Tournament bracket watch update, which has Florida among the top-seeded teams in the nation.
Florida’s status in bracket watch
The Gators find themselves seeded second in the West Region based in San Francisco, paired up with the 15-seed Cleveland State Vikings in their home city of Cleveland, Ohio. The other matchup in that city’s bracket has the seventh-seeded UCLA Bruins facing the 10th-seeded Missouri Tigers.
Golden’s gang is also a No. 2 seed in the West Region according to ESPN college basketball expert Joe Lunardi’s bracketology while holding onto a 2-seed in the East Region in CBS Sports bracket guru Jerry Palm’s predictions.
SEC schools in The Athletic’s bracket watch
The Southeastern Conference is represented by 13 out of its 16 member schools in this update, headlined by the top-seeded Auburn Tigers (South) and Tennesee (Midwest). Florida (West), along with the Alabama Crimson Tide (South) and Kentucky (East) are also among the top seeds at No. 2.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs (South) and Texas A&M Aggies (East) hold onto 3-seeds while the Ole Miss Rebels (No. 6, West), Oklahoma Sooners (No. 7, Midwest), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 9, East) and Missouri Tigers (No. 10, West) follow behind in the main bracket.
The Vanderbilt Commodores and Arkansas Razorbacks are both 11-seeds and last four in, putting them among the first four games played. Missouri is among the last four byes while the Texas Longhorns are one of the first teams out.
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