Here’s where Florida stands in Lunardi’s bracketology ahead of conference play
Florida basketball got the job done this week against South Florida and Stony Brook, but two Quadrant 4 wins weren’t enough to get the Gators out of Joe Lunardi’s Last Four Byes in the latest ESPN bracketology update.
Lunardi calls the last four teams that don’t have to play a play-in game to make the tournament the Last Four Byes, and Florida joined that group last week. That means that the Gators will enter conference play “on the bubble” of the NCAA tournament.
Ole Miss is the first team Florida plays after returning from the holiday break, and then there’s a week until Alabama comes to the O’Connell Center. Beating the Rebels might be enough to get Florida into a better spot by the time the Tide gets to town and cushion a potential loss to one of the nation’s top teams. A win over ‘Bama would be huge for Florida and could help undo some of the losses suffered in December.
Alabama is currently projected as a No. 5 seed in the South Region, according to Lunardi. Tennessee, the No. 3 seed in the South, could meet the Tide in an Elite Eight matchup if these projections play out.
Florida is in the Midwest Region as a 10-seed along with Kentucky (No. 4), Arkansas (No. 8) and Missippi State (No. 11). The Bulldogs would have to beat Wake Forest in a play-in game on this bracket, but Lunardi has them in his Last Four In. In a perfect world, the four teams representing the Midwest Region in the Sweet Sixteen would all be from the SEC. The winner of Kentucky-Arkansas would face the winner of Florida-Missippi State, but a lot has to go right for that to happen.
Undefeated LSU holds the fourth seed in the East and is the sole SEC representative in the region for this bracketology update. Fifth-seeded Auburn is also alone in the West.
With eight teams from the Southeastern Conference projected to make the tournament right now, Florida will have plenty of opportunities to secure its spot during SEC play.
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