Seed Watch: Florida Gators Basketball (Feb. 22)
After Florida fell to South Carolina on the road 73-69 in overtime on Saturday, the final four games to close out the regular season became only that much more important for the Gators.
During this upcoming stretch, the Gators will have the opportunity to boost their resume with contests against No. 14 Kentucky, LSU and Vanderbilt on the horizon. But first on Florida's upcoming slate is a meeting with Vandy in the O'Connell Center on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. that will be televised on the SEC Network.
“I know with a team like this, I think we have bigger concerns than adding pressure. So we’re not going to do any of that," Florida basketball head coach Mike White said. "Are they important games? Absolutely. I think they’re important games for us and for everyone else in our league throughout college basketball, it’s just an important time of the season."
With Florida on the bubble, winning at least three of these next four games would be a big boost. Go 2-2 to close out the year, and the Gators could be facing a lot of uncertainty heading into the SEC Tournament a few weeks from now. Obviously, a myriad of factors will determine UF's standing in a couple weeks, but it cannot afford a losing record over this four-game stretch or an early exit in Nashville.
Currently, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has UF as a No. 8 seed in the latest version of his Bracketology, facing No. 9 seed Pittsburgh in the East bracket. In the Feb. 22 edition of CBS Sports' Jerry Palm's Bracketology, he has Florida projected as a No. 10 seed against 7th-seeded Texas in the West bracket.
In Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics rankings, Florida sits at 36th overall. The Gators are currently 32nd in the nation in RPI, 29th in BPI and ranked seventh overall in strength of schedule.
Today, we take another look at UF's resume and what lies ahead with our weekly Seed Watch:
WINS (17 overall, 8 SEC)
(15 in RPI) Win vs. West Virginia – 88-71
(26) Win vs. Saint Joseph's – 74-63
(80) Win vs. Georgia - 77-63
(80) Win at Georgia – 57-53
(87) Win vs. Ole Miss - 77-72
(87) Win at Ole Miss – 80-71
(88) Win vs. LSU – 68-62
(124) Win vs. Richmond – 76-56
(140) Win vs. Arkansas – 87-83
(147) Win vs. Auburn – 95-63
(150) Win vs. Oklahoma State – 72-70
(152) Win vs. Mississippi State – 81-78
(167) Win vs. Vermont – 86-62
(194) Win at Navy – 59-41
(226) Win vs. FGCU – 70-50
(270) Win vs. Jacksonville – 89-65
(338) Win vs. North Carolina A&T – 104-54
THESE WINS WILL HELP
Nov. 21 - Florida’s 74-63 win against Saint Joseph’s at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
Jan. 2 – Florida’s 77-63 home win over Georgia
Jan. 30 - Florida’s 88-71 home victory over then-No. 9 West Virginia
LOSSES (10 overall, 6 SEC)
(8) Loss at Miami - 66-55
(12) Loss at Kentucky – 80-61
(16) Loss at Michigan State - 58-52
(23) Loss vs. Purdue - 85-70
(24) Loss at Texas A&M - 71-68
(31) Loss at South Carolina – 73-69 (OT)
(48) Loss vs. Alabama - 61-55
(65) Loss at Vanderbilt - 60-59
(74) Loss vs. Florida State 73-71
(119) Loss at Tennessee - 83-69
THESE LOSSES WILL HURT
Nov. 22 - Florida's 85-70 loss to then-No. 21 Purdue at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
Jan. 6 - Florida's 83-69 road loss to unranked Tennessee
Feb. 6 – Florida’s 80-61 road loss to then-No. 20 Kentucky
Feb. 13 - Florida's 61-55 home loss to Alabama
RECORDS
Home: 12-2
Road: 3-7
Neutral: 2-1
vs. RPI 1-50: 2-7
vs. RPI 51-100: 5-2
vs. RPI 101-150: 4-1
vs. RPI 151-200: 3-0
vs. RPI 200+: 3-0
REMAINING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
(65) vs. Vanderbilt (Feb. 23)
(88) at LSU (Feb. 27)
(12) vs. Kentucky (March 1)
(201) at Missouri (March 5)
OTHER TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE TO WATCH
(Via ESPN's Bracketology)
NO. 8 SEEDS
USC (19-8, 8-6 Pac-12) (30th in RPI)
Wisconsin (17-10, 9-5 Big Ten) (45th in RPI)
Texas Tech (17-9, 7-7 Big 12) (22nd in RPI)
NO. 9 SEEDS
Pittsburgh (19-7, 8-6 ACC) (36th in RPI)
Connecticut (19-8, 9-5 AAC) (XX in RPI)
Saint Joseph's (22-5, 11-3 Atlantic 10) (26th in RPI)
VCU (20-7, 12-2 Atlantic 10) (49th in RPI)
LAST FOUR BYES (NO. 10 SEEDS)
Seton Hall (19-7, 9-5 Big East) (42nd in RPI)
Colorado (19-9, 8-7 Pac-12) (34th in RPI)
Syracuse (18-10, 8-7 ACC) (56th in RPI)
Michigan (19-9, 9-6 Big Ten) (57th in RPI)
LAST FOUR IN
Cincinnati (20-8, 10-5 AAC) (59th in RPI)
Gonzaga (21-7, 13-3 West Coast) (66th in RPI)
Butler (18-9, 7-8 Big East) (63rd in RPI)
Alabama (16-10, 7-7 SEC) (48th in RPI)
FIRST FOUR OUT
St. Bonaventure (18-7, 10-4 Atlantic 10) (33rd in RPI)
Vanderbilt (16-11, 8-6 SEC) (65th in RPI)
Tulsa (18-9, 10-5 AAC) (37th in RPI)
George Washington (19-7, 9-5 Atlantic 10) (52nd in RPI)
NEXT OUT
Washington (16-11, 8-7 Pac-12) (71st in RPI)
LSU (16-11, 9-5 SEC) (88th in RPI)
Clemson (16-11, 9-6 ACC) (103rd in RPI)
Oregon State (15-10, 6-8 Pac-12) (35th in RPI)