With one week to go in the regular season, Florida Basketball is riding high at 25-4 and is in second place in the SEC. The Gators enter the final week with no chance of the regular season title but still plenty of opportunity to control their fate heading into the SEC and NCAA Tournament.
This week won't ultimately dictate Florida's season, but it can set up a much smoother pathway forward in their quest for San Antonio.
Florida Basketball: Finish Strong
Tomorrow night, the Gators take on 7th-ranked Alabama.
The stakes of the game are simple for Florida:
- A win guarantees a double-bye in the SEC Tournament and gives Florida inside track to finish ahead of Tennessee in the SEC standings.
- A loss would mean Florida would have to beat Ole Miss in the finale to finish in the top four and would put Florida in a tie with Tennessee, while Alabama would be guaranteed to finish ahead of Florida.
If these stakes seem arbitrary, considering Florida's ultimate fate will be decided in the NCAA Tournament, consider the following two factors:
- If Florida falls out of the top four, they would need to play four games to win the SEC Tournament. Since 2014, only three times has a team played four games in their respective conference tournament AND gone on to make at least the Elite Eight.
- Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 25 out of the 39 national champions were a one seed.
If Florida can win out this week, it will hold every metrics-based advantage over Tennessee for the final one seed in the NCAA Tournament. In theory, both could meet up in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament to ultimately decide who gets it, but it becomes a moot point if Florida falters this week.
The goal for the Gators is simple this week: survive and advance.
Welcome to March.