
Florida basketball remains 2-seed in East per USA TODAY Sports bracketology update
Florida basketball had some time off this week, giving the Gators a chance to group before the final push toward the postseason. Todd Golden's team may have been out of action but they remain among the best programs in the nation so far during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Orange and Blue have won three straight games en route to an 18-2 overall record, ranking fifth in the Associated Press Poll and sixth in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The team's 5-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play has them tied for third with the Missouri Tigers — who snuck by Florida by a point inside the O'Connell Center — in the standings.
The Gators are set for a rematch with the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday, who they obliterated at home earlier this month, 73-43. Ahead of this top-10 college basketball battle, USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg updated his bracketology, keeping Todd Golden' and Co.'s gang right where they were a few days ago: a 2-seed in the East Region.
They are once again lined up with the 15th-seeded Cleveland State Vikings in Providence, Rhode Island, for the opening round of play.
SEC schools in bracketology
Unsurprisingly the SEC is again, represented by a bracketology-best 13 schools headlined, by the Auburn Tigers in the South Region for the third-straight update while the Alabama Crimson Tide held onto the top seed in the West for the second-straight update. Florida (East) is the only No. 2 seed this time around, however.
The Tennessee Volunteers fell to a No. 3 seed in the South and Kentucky Wildcats held onto their No. 3 seed — but moved from the Midwest to the East Region — while Mississippi Bulldogs jumped over to the West and Texas A&M Aggies to the Midwest as No. 4 seeds.
The Missouri Tigers are a No. 5 seed but moved over to the East while the Ole Miss Rebels also stayed at No. 6 seed in the but moved to the Midwest. The Vanderbilt Commodores remain a No. 9 seed in the East, followed by SEC newcomers, the Oklahoma Sooners (South) and Texas Longhorns (Midwest), who along with the Georgia Bulldogs (West) hold onto No. 10 seeds with the latter two shifting regions.
USA TODAY Sports full bracketology
Last four in
North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio State, Central Florida
Last four out
Arizona State, Brigham Young, Wake Forest, Virginia Commonwealth
NCAA Tournament bids conference breakdown
Multi-bid leagues: SEC (13), Big Ten (9), Big 12 (8), ACC (5), Big East (4), Mountain West (3), West Coast (2).
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