Gators Move Up to Higher Seed in Mock Reseeding of Tournament
The Florida Gators might be seeded a bit higher had the tournament started today. Sports Illustrated did a reseeding of March Madness. In this hypothetical scenario, the Gators move up from the No. 4 overall seed to No. 2. They finished behind Duke and ahead of rival Tennessee.
Their impressive wins to open the tournament played a factor into a boost in seeding. So far, the Gators have pounced No. 16 Norfolk State and beat out the defending back-to-back champs, UConn.
In the first half against Norfolk State, the Gators set a tournament record for the most points in a half. They ended the game winning 95-69. However, not everything was perfect for Florida. Gators’ head coach Todd Golden bashed a whiteboard in during halftime, believing his Gators weren’t giving their all after the Spartans went on an 11-0 run toward the end of the first half.
The Gators snapped the Huskies’ 13-consecutive NCAA Tournament wins dating back to the start of their title-winning run.
Coincidentally, the last team to go back-to-back before UConn was Florida. Florida completed in 2006 and 2007. The game had the feel of a National Championship with the sense of urgency and the constant battling for the ball. In the end, the Gators won by just two points, 77-75. Florida forced the Huskies to settle for matching the repeat.
The Gators are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.
They will have to get through the Maryland Terrapins if they want to advance to the Elite Eight – which they also haven’t reached since 2017.
The Terrapins were rated as the 13-seed according to SI’s reseed. That game will take place in San Francisco. Should the Gators win that, they will face the winner of the 10-seed Arkansas and three-seed Texas Tech. According to SI, the Razorbacks are the 16-seed of the 16 teams left in the tournament, while Texas Tech would be the eighth seed.
Tip off is set for Thursday at 7:39 p.m.
