Florida March Madness base: Seed, potential opponents, schedules and Final Four path

Florida is about to embark on its quest to repeat as national champions. The Gators need six wins in a row to become just the third team since 1993 to repeat as national champions in men’s basketball (Florida in 2006, 2007, and UConn in 2023, 2024).

Florida enters March Madness as a No. 1 seed, the first time in program history they have been a No. 1 seed in back-to-back years. We will update this page as the tournament moves along, but for now, this is what Florida’s pathway to cut down the nets looks like.

Florida Basketball's 2026 NCAA Tournament Hub:

Seed: No 1
Region: South
Next Opponent: vs. 16-seed Prairie View A&M or Lehigh on Friday, March 20 at 9:25 PM

South Region bracket:

1. Florida
16. Prairie View A&M/ Lehigh

8. Clemson
9. Iowa

5. Vanderbilt
12. McNeese

4. Nebraska
13. Troy

6. North Carolina
11. VCU

3. Illinois
14. Penn

7. Saint Mary's
10. Texas A&M

2. Houston
15. Idaho

Florida’s 1st Round Opponent:

Florida will have to wait until Wednesday night to know for sure who they are playing in the opening round. Prairie View A&M and Lehigh will square off as part of the First Four in Dayton. The winner of that game will get on a plane to Tampa for Friday’s matchup.

Florida’s Potential 2nd Round Opponent:

• No. 8 Clemson
• No. 9 Iowa

Barring an all-time collapse in the first round, Florida should still be a heavy favorite in the second round against the winner of Clemson and Iowa. Neither team defends the paint all that well, and Florida’s size should be the difference maker even if they don’t hit their shots.

Florida’s Potential Sweet 16 Opponent:

• No. 4 Nebraska
• No. 5 Vanderbilt
• No. 12 McNeese State
• No. 13 Troy

Barring upsets, Florida most likely takes on either Nebraska or Vanderbilt. The Cornhuskers have never actually won an NCAA Tournament game, while Vanderbilt has been a thorn in the side of the Gators all season.

Florida’s Potential Elight Eight Opponent:

• No. 2 Houston
• No. 3 Illinois
• No. 6 UNC
• No. 7 Saint Mary’s
• No. 10 Texas A&M
• No. 11 VCU
• No. 14 Penn
• No. 15 Idaho

Houston and Illinois are the two headliners who one would expect to make it to the Elite Eight. The pain with Houston is that the South Region is in Houston. Illinois is probably the strongest No. 3 seed in the tournament and is seen as a dark-horse Final Four pick.