The long and winding road for Florida Basketball will get its final road map tonight as the Gators will find out their bracket for the NCAA Tournament during Selection Sunday. The Gators still have to take on Tennessee at 1 PM in the SEC Tournament finals before the brackets will get released at 6 PM on CBS.
While Florida has zero things to worry about in terms of whether they will make the tournament, there are still some things to keep an eye on as the brackets get released.
Florida Basketball: If it's lonely at the top, I'd rather be alone
There has been a constant push by Bracketology experts to want to knock Florida out of being a one-seed. Even ahead of yesterday's contest against Alabama, Joe Lunardi was trying to make the case that the Crimson Tide would get the final one seed had they won.
Even today, there is this push from Tennessee fans that the Volunteers should get the one seed if they win despite finishing two games back in Florida during the SEC regular season.
The one seed does hold value because it means you get to avoid Duke in Newark, Auburn in Atlanta, or just Houston in general en route to the Final Four.
Location, Location, Location
Speaking of Auburn in Atlanta, there is a case to be made that if Florida beats Tennessee today for the SEC Tournament title, Florida should leapfrog Auburn for location priority.
Keep in mind the four sites for the Sweet 16/Elite 8 are Atlanta, Newark, Indianapolis, and San Francisco.
Winding up in Atlanta would be massive, not just for Florida fans but for the Gators in general. San Francisco wouldn't be great, but it would neutralize any potential home-court advantage.
The nightmare scenario for Florida is if they wind up as the No. 1 seed in Indianapolis, with Michigan State as the No. 2 seed and Purdue as the No. 4/5 seed. Both of those would turn into defacto road games for the Gators.
Location, Location, Location Part 2
Before Florida can play in the Elite 8, it has to navigate the first two rounds. Given the eight sites hosting the first two rounds, the only two sites that are even close to Gainesville are Lexington and Raleigh.
The problem with Lexington is that those games take place on Thursday and Saturday, so it wouldn't be in Florida's best interest to head there after a deep SEC Tournament run.
That leaves Raleigh on Friday and Sunday as the best-case scenario for the Gators.
New Mexico
There is no one in the country that Florida will feel like they can't match up with, but there are teams that can make life more difficult for Florida than others. As we know, the Gators thrive off getting offensive rebounds and it was on display once again against Alabama in the SEC Semifinals.
One team looming out there who could get slotted into an 8/9 seed and would have the best shot at neutralizing Florida on the glass is New Mexico. The Lobos are 10th in the country at defensive rebounding percentage and they have a roster with five guys who are at least 6'9" or 6'10".