It may have taken some moments of sadness, frustration, and potentially some of pure insanity, but the Florida Gators have met the 30-win threshold, creating a winning percentage of 0.652 when paired with their 16 losses. They now sit in twelfth place in the SEC, tied with the Texas A&M Aggies.
On3 has updated its bracketology predictions for the NCAA Tournament, courtesy of On3's Jonathan Wagner. Florida finds itself in a position it hasn't found itself in since the very beginning of conference play.
Taking a look at the path for the Florida Gators to make the NCAA Tournament
Florida's important series win over Arkansas is already paying dividends. At last, the Gators are no longer on the shaky NCAA Tournament bubble, which had been their home for the past several weeks. Their late-season surge has catapulted them into a safer spot in the tournament, but work is still needed to be done, according to Wagner. "The Gators are still just above the bubble, but they must get to 13 wins to be in that position."
Florida is projected to play in the Clemson regional as a three-seed, joined by the High Point Panthers (4), representing the Big South Conference's automatic qualifier, Southern Mississippi (2), and of course, the Clemson Tigers (1), which is likely a familiar name for Gators baseball fans.
Florida took down Clemson in a super regional series last season which booked Florida's path to its second consecutive season in Omaha. In one of the greatest postseason baseball games of all time (that is a fact), the Gators defeated Clemson in a game spanning thirteen innings to clinch the series victory. You may remember the Cam Cannarella (Willie Mays) game-saving catch, the Erik Bakich ejection, or the Michael Robertson walk-off hit from that one.
The winner of the Clemson regional would meet the winner of the Conway Regional for a super regional matchup. The Conway Regional is projected to be made up of Oral Roberts (4), Duke (3), Ole Miss (2), and Coastal Carolina (1).
What's next?
Florida will head to Columbia this coming weekend to take on South Carolina. The Gamecocks' NCAA Tournament hopes are on life support, so they'll likely be playing for their season against the Gators. A weekend series against a struggling South Carolina team presents an excellent opportunity for Florida to further protect its status in the NCAA Tournament, as well as potentially move up in seeding.
Though chances are slim, Florida's chances of hosting a regional are still alive, likely needing a near-perfect finish to play its regional in its own ballpark. A series win, especially a sweep, would keep that hope alive.