Seed Watch: Florida Gators Basketball (Feb. 29)
Florida has found itself in a precarious position after dropping two contests this past week.
With losses at home to Vanderbilt (87-74) last Tuesday and on the road at LSU (96-91) last Saturday, the Gators (17-12, 8-8 SEC) saw their NCAA Tournament hopes take a big hit. Now, their next two games - at home against No. 22 Kentucky on Senior Night (7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN) and at Missouri (7:30 p.m. Saturday, SEC Network) - are absolutely crucial.
“It’s huge. We’ve squandered some opportunities, and this is one of the last few we’ll have," Florida basketball head coach Mike White said. "Obviously, this is a big, big opportunity for our guys to overcome some mistakes and failures. It’ll be a very, very difficult game to win, but if we play very well – we’re at home – we should have our chances.”
Currently, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has UF as a No. 11 seed in the latest version of his Bracketology, as the last team in facing No. 11 seed Oregon State in the South bracket in a play-in game. In the Feb. 29 edition of CBS Sports' Jerry Palm's Bracketology, he has Florida as one of the first four teams out.
In Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics rankings, Florida sits at 44th overall. The Gators are currently 45th in the nation in RPI, 36th in BPI and ranked sixth overall in strength of schedule.
But as their backs are against the wall, the Gators are still trying to tune out the noise and focus on the next task at hand.
"Not really," Dorian Finney-Smith said Monday, when asked whether he pays attention to the mock brackets and tournament speculation as UF sits on the bubble.
"But we’re human so I can’t say we don’t, especially me as a senior I want to play in the tournament my last year. But I know the most important day is today so stay in the moment.”
That next moment is a date with the Wildcats, who shredded the Gators 80-61 at Rupp Arena on Feb. 6 in their last meeting. Another loss to Kentucky would make a deep run in the SEC Tournament next week highly necessary. That may not even do the trick - a conference title (and automatic bid) could possibly be what the Gators would need to get into the Big Dance in that scenario.
A defeat to lowly Missouri, which ranks No. 210 in RPI, would be a significant stain on the Gators' resume and perhaps would make a conference championship win the only way UF could make it into the NCAA Tournament.
For Florida, this week is also important as it jockeys for good seeding in the SEC Tournament. The Gators sit at 8-8, tied with four other conference foes (Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas) for the sixth overall best SEC record.
Today, we take another look at UF's resume and what lies ahead with our weekly Seed Watch:
WINS (17 overall, 8 SEC)
(11 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
(85) Win vs. LSU – 68-62
(89) Win vs. Ole Miss - 77-72
(89) Win at Ole Miss – 80-71
(116) Win vs. Richmond – 76-56
(125) Win vs. Arkansas – 87-83
(140) Win vs. Mississippi State – 81-78
(141) Win vs. Vermont – 86-62
(152) Win vs. Auburn – 95-63
(157) Win vs. Oklahoma State – 72-70
(206) Win at Navy – 59-41
(237) Win vs. FGCU – 70-50
(280) 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 (12 overall, 8 SEC)
(7) Loss at Miami - 66-55
(14) Loss at Michigan State - 58-52
(15) Loss at Kentucky – 80-61
(18) Loss vs. Purdue - 85-70
(21) Loss at Texas A&M - 71-68
(38) Loss at South Carolina – 73-69 (OT)
(49) Loss at Vanderbilt - 60-59
(49) Loss vs. Vanderbilt - 87-74
(58) Loss vs. Alabama - 61-55
(71) Loss vs. Florida State - 73-71
(85) Loss at LSU - 96-91
(133) 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
Feb. 23 - Florida's 87-74 home loss to Vanderbilt
Feb. 27 - Florida's 96-91 road loss to LSU
RECORDS
Home: 12-3
Road: 3-8
Neutral: 2-1
vs. RPI 1-50: 2-8
vs. RPI 51-100: 5-3
vs. RPI 101-150: 4-1
vs. RPI 151-200: 2-0
vs. RPI 200+: 4-0
REMAINING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
(15) vs. Kentucky (March 1; 7 p.m., ESPN)
(210) at Missouri (March 5; 7:30 p.m., SEC Network)
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE TO WATCH
(Via ESPN's Bracketology)
NO. 8 SEEDS
USC (19-10, 8-8 Pac-12) (43th in RPI)
Saint Joseph's (24-5, 13-3 Atlantic 10) (26th in RPI)
Texas Tech (18-10, 8-8 Big 12) (24th in RPI)
Colorado (21-9, 10-7 Pac-12) (28th in RPI)
NO. 9 SEEDS
Pittsburgh (20-8, 9-7 ACC) (39th in RPI)
Syracuse (19-10, 9-7 ACC) (55th in RPI)
South Carolina (23-6, 10-6 SEC) (38th in RPI)
Providence (20-9, 8-8 Big East (44th in RPI) (one of Lunardi's last four byes)
NO. 10 SEEDS
VCU (21-8, 13-3 Atlantic 10) (46th in RPI)
Vanderbilt (18-11, 10-6 SEC) (49th in RPI) (one of Lunardi's last four byes)
Cincinnati (21-8, 11-5 AAC) (59th in RPI) (one of Lunardi's last four byes)
Connecticut (20-9, 10-6 AAC) (50th in RPI) (one of Lunardi's last four byes)
LAST FOUR IN (ALL NO. 11 SEEDS)
Michigan (20-10, 10-7 Big Ten) (57th in RPI)
Oregon State (17-10, 8-8 Pac-12) (32nd in RPI)
Butler (19-9, 8-8 Big East) (56th in RPI)
Florida (17-12, 8-8 SEC) (45th in RPI)
FIRST FOUR OUT
Gonzaga (23-7, 15-3 West Coast) (64th in RPI)
Tulsa (19-10, 11-6 AAC) (40th in RPI)
St. Bonaventure (20-7, 12-4 Atlantic 10) (35th in RPI)
Alabama (17-11, 8-8 SEC) (58th in RPI)
NEXT OUT
George Washington (21-8, 10-6 Atlantic 10) (61st in RPI)
Ohio State (19-11, 11-6 Big Ten) (74th in RPI)
Washington (16-13, 8-9 Pac-12) (76th in RPI)
LSU (17-12, 10-6 SEC) (85th in RPI)
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