Florida Gators Receive No. 4 Seed and Will Take on ETSU on Thursday in Orlando

The Florida Gators are a #4 seed for the first time since 2005, and will be taking on the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Buccaneers in Orlando on Thursday. This is the Buccaneers’ first NCAA Tournament birth since the 2009-2010 season. ETSU took down UNC-Greensboro this past Monday, 79-74, to win the Southern Conference championship.

Yikes: Duke, Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida all in Nova's region#marchmadness pic.twitter.com/2hhWQuFOg4

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2017

History

UF has taken on ETSU four times in program history and have gone 4-0 vs. the Bucs. The last match-up between the two teams was in 1980, when Florida took down East Tennessee State University, 72-54. The Gators have an average margin of victory of 13.3 points against the Buccaneers.

When and Where?

The game will be on Thursday in Orlando, but a time is not set as of yet. The winner of UF and ETSU’s game will take on the winner of Virginia and UNC-Wilmington. The No. 1 overall seed in Florida’s East Region are the Villanova Wildcats, last year’s national champions.

ETSU ranks 41st in the nation in points per game.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) March 12, 2017

ETSU has beaten Milwaukee, UC Irvine and Mississippi State this season. No cake walk for the #Gators.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) March 12, 2017

ETSU shoots 49.1% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) March 12, 2017

ETSU does commit 14.8 turnovers per game. Florida will have to stay active on defense as they usually do. Could be transition city.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) March 12, 2017