Breaking Down No. 1 Florida’s NCAA Tournament Road to Repeat
Expect the unexpected. Those three words mean one thing for college basketball fans across the nation.
March Madness is upon us, tipping off Tuesday and Wednesday with First Four games before the Round of 64 tips off Thursday. No. 1 Floridawill watch as its first opponent of the tournament will be decided Wednesday.
The Gators were the talk of the country ahead of its tumble in the SEC Tournament on Saturday. Todd Golden’s squad was bounced in the semifinals after a 17-point loss to Vanderbilt in its first loss since Jan. 24. Despite the upset, Florida still earned the No. 1 overall seed in the South Region, marking the first time it is the top seed in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
“It’s not the worst thing in the world to have a little wake-up call,” Gators forward Alex Condon said after the Vanderbilt loss.
Loading ...Florida may need that wake-up call as it eyes the path to the Final Four in Indianapolis. The Gators will take on the winner of Wednesday’s Prairie View A&M-Lehigh matchup for a chance to match up against No. 8 Clemson or No. 9 Iowa.
Clemson lost in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to No. 1 Duke, while Iowa lost in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament after No. 8 Ohio State held off the Hawkeyes’ late push. Iowa has dropped seven of its last 10 contests.
While plenty of assumptions and hypotheticals litter the bracket, Florida will likely square off against familiar foes down the line.
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Should the Gators advance in Tampa, they could have the opportunity to get revenge on the team that snapped their 12-game winning streak in the SEC Tournament semifinals — No. 5 Vanderbilt. On Jan. 17, the two SEC rivals met with then-No. 19 Florida emerging victorious, 98-94. Gators guard Xaivian Lee knocked down a 3-point dagger to propel his squad ahead with 45 seconds remaining.
“First of all, ton of credit to Vanderbilt,” Golden said on Jan. 17. “They’re a great team, and what Mark (Byington) has been able to do here in a short period of time is, especially in this day and age of college basketball, is really impressive.”
If the Gators and Commodores each land in the Sweet 16, prepare for a heavy-weight battle. However, if Vanderbilt falls in one of the first two rounds, Florida’s opponent would be No. 12 McNeese, No. 4 Nebraska or No. 13 Troy.
While anything can happen, Nebraska would emerge as the likely favorite to challenge the Gators. The Cornhuskers opened their season 20-0 before dropping five of their last 11 games in the regular season. Nebraska fell to Purdue in its first action in the Big Ten Tournament. They have a date with Troy in the first round, with the winner taking on the winner of Vanderbilt-McNeese.
The Elite Eight is where matchups get interesting. If the Gators win its first three contests, there’s a chance they will meet No. 2 Houston in the quarterfinals — in Houston.
The last time the two programs played each other, the Gators notched their third national title and first since 2007.
Facing the Cougars in Houston certainly isn’t ideal, but there’s a chance the rematch will be played just 2.1 miles from the University of Houston.
The Cougars topped BYU and Kansas en route to the Big 12 Tournament championship against Arizona. The Wildcats hoisted the conference trophy despite a 20-point, 10-rebound night for Houston’s Joseph Tugler. If Florida bests the Cougars for the second time in a calendar year, it would advance to the Final Four.
While it is still incredibly early to predict who will join the Gators in Indianapolis, the top-ranked suitors are Arizona, Duke and Michigan. The Gators have already fallen victim to the two former candidates, albeit in the first month of season action. Arizona took down Florida 93-87 in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas, while Duke pulled out a slim one-point victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The road back could run though those teams, and the Gators will need six straight wins to repeat as champions.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
