Will Florida Be Dancing In March?

Florida Men’s Basketball team’s 90-86 win over Ole Miss on Wednesday night was crucial to their dreams of dancing come March.

There are 11 games remaining in the regular season before the Gators head to Nashville for the SEC tournament. So it is time to evaluate Florida’s chances as we head into February.

Never. Leave. Early.

S/O @MBKRowdies #GoGators pic.twitter.com/gV9AbpjL6G

— Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 31, 2019

Where The Gators Stand

Although the Gators have taken some hard losses over the course of the season, UF is still in the thick of things.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Florida as the first team out of the tournament. CBS Sports paints the same picture as Florida is part of the first four out group along with Butler, Arizona, and Pittsburgh. Teamrankings.com gives the Gators a 47% chance to make the tournament and 6% chance at gaining an automatic bid via winning the SEC tournament.

What Do The Gators Have to Do?

Florida has their work cut out for them as they will have to win a game their not expected to win and keep winning the games they are.

Wednesday’s win was significant because Florida will now begin a tough three-game set. It all begins this Saturday when the Gators welcome the Kentucky Wildcats into the Exactech Arena. After that game, UF hits the road for games against Auburn then Tennessee.

If the Gators can win one maybe even two of those games, it would help their case to make the tournament tremendously. Thankfully for Florida, one of the teams that they will have to leap is Alabama. In both Lunardi and CBS Sports’ bracket, the Crimson Tide are among the first four in.

The Gators will have an opportunity to make their case that they are indeed better than the Tide on February 16th when they visit Tuscaloosa. That is the first and last time Alabama and Florida will see each other unless they meet each other in the SEC Tournament.

From here on out, it will be a big game after big game for the Gators. Every game could be the difference between playing in the big dance or playing in the NIT.

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