Florida set to face North Florida in the NIT on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET
UPDATE (8:50 P.M.): Due to the O'Connell Center renovations, No. 2 seed Florida will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday night to face No. 7 seed North Florida in the NIT on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET in a game that will air on ESPNU.
There's the possibility that Florida could face Ohio State in the next round if both teams were to win their first NIT games.
The full slate of NIT contests:
MONMOUTH AND FLORIDA QUADRANTS
No. 1 Monmouth vs. No. 8 Bucknell
No. 4 George Washington vs. No. 5 Hoftstra
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 North Florida
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Akron
ST. BONAVENTURE AND BYU QUADRANTS
No. 1 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 8 Wagner
No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Alabama
No. 2 BYU vs. No. 7 UAB
No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 6 Princeton
SOUTH CAROLINA AND SAN DIEGO STATE QUADRANTS
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 High Point
No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. No. 5 Houston
No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 7 IPFW
No. 3 Washington vs. Long Beach State
VALPARAISO AND SAINT MARY'S QUADRANTS
No. 1 Valparaiso vs. No. 8 Texas Southern
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Davidson
No. 2 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 7 New Mexico State
No. 3 Georgia vs. Belmont
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For the second straight season, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team will not participate in the Big Dance.
After a season filled with inconsistency on almost all ends in head coach Mike White’s first year on the job, Florida (19-14, 9-9 SEC) was not one of the teams announced to make the field of 68 during the Selection Sunday show.
Florida finished 55th in RPI but 34th in BPI and fifth in strength of schedule rankings. However, the Gators went just 2-7 against teams ranked in the top 50 in RPI, 5-6 against teams from 51-100 in RPI and 12-1 against teams 101st or worse in RPI.
Basically, Florida struggled against its top competition, despite having one of the most difficult schedules in the country. The Gators went 12-4 at home, 3-2 at neutral sites but just 4-8 on the road.
UF was swept by Kentucky and Vanderbilt during the regular season, lost twice to Texas A&M and fell to Miami, Purdue, Michigan State and Florida State during the non-conference slate. The Gators also dropped pivotal contests to South Carolina, Alabama and LSU in conference play. An 83-69 road loss in early January to Tennessee, which ranks 144th in RPI, was perhaps the biggest stain on UF's resume. Florida's two top-50 RPI wins came against West Virginia and Saint Joseph's.
As an eighth seed in the SEC Tournament, the Gators defeated No. 9 seed Arkansas 68-61 on Thursday but couldn’t pull off an upset against No. 1 seed Texas A&M on Friday, falling to the Aggies 72-66 in the SEC quarterfinals. TAMU eventually lost to No. 2 seed Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final.
The Gators lost five of their final seven games heading into Selection Sunday.
In five seasons as a head coach (four at Louisiana Tech, one at UF), White has seen his teams fall short of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs participated in the National Invitational Tournament during White's final three seasons in Ruston, La., reaching the quarterfinals in his last two years.
Florida has yet to make the NCAA Tournament since the 2013-14 season - a year where the Gators won 30 straight games under Billy Donovan en route to a Final Four appearance in Arlington, Texas - where they lost to eventual national champion UConn in the semifinals.
Now, the next destination for the Gators appears to be the NIT, which holds a 32-team field and runs from March 15-31. The NIT selection show airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
It’s been previously reported that if UF were to participate in the NIT, it wouldn’t host any home games due to the upcoming O’Connell Center renovation schedule.
Three SEC teams - No. 3 seed Texas A&M, No. 4 seed Kentucky and No. 11 seed Vanderbilt - made the NCAA Tournament field. South Carolina also notably didn't make the cut.
The full NCAA Tournament field:
SOUTH REGION
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Austin Peay
No. 8 Colorado vs. No. 9 UConn
No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 South Dakota State
No. 4 California vs. No. 13 Hawaii
No. 6 Arizona vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt/Wichita State
No. 3 Miami vs. No. 14 Buffalo
No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Temple
No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 15 UNC Asheville
WEST REGION
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 16 Holy Cross/Southern
No. 8 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 9 Cincinnati
No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Yale
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 UNC Wilmington
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Green Bay
No. 7 Oregon State vs. No. 10 VCU
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Cal State-Bakersfield
EAST REGION
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 FGCU/Fairleigh Dickinson
No. 8 USC vs. No. 9 Providence
No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 12 Chattanooga
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Stony Brook
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan/Tulsa
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin
No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 15 Weber State
MIDWEST REGION
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 Hampton
No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Butler
No. 5 Purdue vs. No. 12 Little Rock
No. 4 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Iona
No. 6 Seton Hall vs. No. 11 Gonzaga
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 14 Fresno State
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Syracuse
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Middle Tennessee
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SPRING FOOTBALL CONTENT:
ITG Mailbag: Answering subscriber questions about Florida spring practices
ITG Spring Practice Update: Week 1
Florida Spring Practice: Day 1 Quick Hitters
Florida Spring Practice: Day 2 Quick Hitters
An early unofficial look at where UF's spring depth chart currently stands
VIDEO: Open portion of Florida's second spring practice
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