Even before the Florida Gators tipped off against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday for their regular-season finale, they already improved their chances of getting a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday next week.
During the early slate of games on Saturday, unranked Marquette upset No. 4 UConn 68-62 in Milwaukee. The Huskies were one of four teams that ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had seeded above Florida heading into the final day of the regular season, and a loss of that magnitude will surely knock UConn down a seed when Lunardi reassesses the bracket.
UConn upset benefits Gators' hopes of getting a No. 1 seed before facing Kentucky
In Lunardi's most recent bracket projections on Friday, the Gators were a No. 2 seed, along with Michigan State, Houston and Illinois. With Florida sitting at No. 4 in NET rankings at 24-6 and leading SEC standings at 15-2 in conference play, the Gators seemed to have the best chance of the group to make the jump by the time the weekend concluded. Houston also didn't help its case after struggling with Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
These four teams fighting to move into No. 1 seed territory could be the difference in winning a national title or not, at least based on recent NCAA Tournament history. Seven of the last eight national champions were a No. 1 seed, including the Gators just last season.
The top seeds ahead of Florida, according to Lunardi, were Duke, Michigan, UConn and Arizona. Duke and Arizona are both massive favorites in their regular-season finales, but Michigan hosts No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday. Even if the Wolverines lose a close game against Michigan State, though, it likely wouldn't be enough for the Wolverines to fall from top-seed consideration, but the Spartans could jump the Gators with that massive of a win compared to Florida beating Kentucky.
In reality, UConn falling to Marquette was the best-case scenario for the Gators, as well as a win against Kentucky.
Conference tournaments next week can obviously shake up seeding even more by Selection Sunday, but this could give the Gators a headstart at capturing one of the top spots and more of a cushion just in case things don't go perfectly in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.