Loss to Vanderbilt drops Florida Basketball in Bracketology seeding

It seemed that Florida Basketball had made it to the finish line and was going to head into the SEC Tournament with minimal work to do to secure a six-seed. Another blown lead, this time to Vanderbilt, tripped the Gators up at that finish line.

Florida will still make the NCAA Tournament barring some backdoor deal by the NCAA Tournament Committee, but according to seeding predictions their road in the tournament will be harder because of the loss.

Florida Basketball: Free Falling

Florida had ascended to a projected six seed by ESPN's Joe Lunardi in his Bracketology projections followings Florida's huge win over Alabama.

Losses have consequences and Saturday's result dropped Florida down to a seven seed in Lunardi's latest update.

It may seem like semantics, but given how the bracket is potentially shaping up, Florida would much rather have a six seed over a seven seed if it intends to make a deep run in the tournament.

If Todd Golden and crew could get past their first-round opponent, which is far from a given in itself, a seven seed means Florida funnels into one of the two seeds in the tournament. Right now, Lunardi has the two seeds: Marquette, North Carolina, Arizona, and Creighton.

As we previewed last week, two of these, in particular, would be bad match-ups for the Gators. North Carolina can neutralize Florida on the glass, and since the game would probably be played in Charlotte, it would be a de facto home game for the Tar Heels. Arizona plays at a tempo even faster than Florida but is more efficient at doing it.

Florida can still go on a deep run in the SEC Tournament and work their way back into the conversation of a six or five seed, but as we chronicled yesterday that also wouldn't be in Florida's best interest as teams almost always struggle in the NCAA Tournament after playing four games in their conference tournament.