Gators Jump Into Top Two in ESPN’s Re-Seeding of Tournament
ESPN released a re-ranking of the Final Four teams on Sunday night following the conclusion of the Elite Eight. ESPN’s Myron Medcalf decided to reshuffle the list and move the Florida Gators two spots higher. The actual NCAA’s top seeds for the tournament were Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida in that order.
Surprisingly and not so surprisingly, the last four dancing this postseason are the one-seeds from each region with Auburn facing off against Florida and Duke taking on Houston next Saturday. Nobody is faced with a re-seeding that has them outside the top four.
The biggest talking point from Medcalf was that the Gators have one of the stars of the tournament, Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton has been on a tear this postseason, recording at least 20 points in five of the seven games in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Against UConn in the Round of 32, Florida’s star scored 10 of his 23 points over the final four and a half minutes to finish off their first comeback victory of this postseason run.
“This is a great win for our program,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said. “The time was now for us to take that next step. Again, Florida basketball back where it belongs.”
However, their second one versus Texas Tech in the Elite Eight was even more impressive.
Trailing 75-66 with just under three minutes left, the Gators were in need of some life or else their season would come to a close. And supplying that second wind for the Gators was none other than Clayton Jr. Although Thomas Haugh was as, if not, more important for the Gators in this victory.
Haugh and Clayton Jr. combined to go 4-for-4 from deep over the final minutes and with some late free throws from other teammates, the Gators ended the game on a 18-4 run to complete their second come-from-behind win and to advance onto the Final Four.
“I thought we did a great job staying the course, not getting too high or too low or trying to make hero defensive plays down the stretch,” Golden said after the win.
As mentioned, the Gators will have a familiar foe blocking their path to the NCAA Championship as they go toe-to-toe with the Tigers in the Final Four next Saturday.
The first time these two teams met, the Gators cut their perfect run in the SEC short and handed them their first loss in conference play, winning 90-81 in Neville Arena.
But for Florida, they’ll have someone who they didn’t have last time out in February, and that’s Alijah Martin. Martin missed this contest with a hip injury.
For Auburn, they should be able to field the exact same lineup in that game, barring any injury updates throughout the week.
This rematch in the Final Four will take place on Saturday, April 5 at 6:09 p.m. and be televised on CBS.
