What may be ahead, NCAA Tourney Info

Latest bracketology has Florida as a 2 seed in the East.

I find it compelling to think what the selection committee does with 13 teams from one conference. Do they spread them out as equal as they can across the four regions with at least 3 in each. Or as Lunardi shows 2 brackets with 4 each and fewer in the other two. In his case the East with Duke the 1 seed, only has 2 SEC teams in the region. Is this to minimize the SEC teams that Duke might face, thereby favoring their chances.

On the flip side, he has 4 SEC teams in the South counting Auburn, but forcing Auburn to potentially face more SEC teams again. I would say, if Auburn wins the SEC and goes in as the number 1 seed overall, they should not be made to face more SEC teams again to get to the finals. But then again, this is the NCAA Selection Committee we are talking about. Lots of games left to be played but still makes me say hhhhmmmm.....

 

Some big games in the SEC this Saturday and the action all starts early.......
#5 Florida at #8 Tennessee ESPN Sat., Feb. 1 / 12:00 PM EST
#20 Missouri at #14 Mississippi State SECN Sat., Feb. 1 / 1:00 PM EST
#1 Auburn at #23 Ole Miss ESPN Sat., Feb. 1 / 2:00 PM EST
All three of these games might impact the Gators standings going forward.

 

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!
What a win today at Auburn and what it means for our future possibilities. Not only does today's win give us that 3 wins in 5 games wrapped up since the huge last shot win at SC, but it also gives us a chance at a 4th win at MSU this week. Sitting at 7-3 we are in a tie for 3rd place in the SEC with TA&M. Tenn, Ole Miss, and Missouri all have 4 losses. Even better, all the talking heads picked AU in the Game Day show. This felt like redemption since they all picked Florida to win at Tenn with two starters out.

What's most important is after MSU, the season is much better for our chances ahead. SC, OK, LSU, and GA are the next four games and all sit in the lower half of the SEC. Our final 3 games are home TA&M, away Bama, and home Ole Miss. A 12-6 or better finish looks highly likely and 13-5 is even more likely. If we win at MSU we will probably be favored in every game but the game at Bama. Looking at the teams below us, if we finish 13-5 only Tenn and maybe Missouri look to be capable of only losing one more conference game, ignoring their schedules aside. The fact we get TA&M at home could be the key where we end up in the SECT. All this to say, a coveted top 4 finish in the SEC looks very promising.

The latest Bracketology still has us as a 2 seed in the East but after the big win at Auburn let's see if they bump Tenn down and we get a 1 seed in the West. That might be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things but Joe Lunardi might have some explaining to do. East or West or 1 or 2 seed probably won't matter since they move everyone around. We could still end up in Raleigh for the first 2 rounds. And what about Auburn, even if they keep the 1 seed in the East, this loss means they can't lose again in the short term without seeing some slippage.

Now Gator fans we must raise our expectations of what's to come and ready ourselves for a deep run. This team is loading up with depth. Klavzar and Alexis are proving to be contributors from the 8 and 9 spots. I also think Brown still has more to show in this season ahead. And props to Aberdeen for proving he is an SEC ready player whether as a starter or key reserve. Coach Todd Golden is proving his system works and his staff can develop players, even if they are not 5 star honorees.

 

Clearly the Bracketology needs to be upgraded....
After the MSU win the Gators should be a #1 seed and Tenn losing makes them a 2 seed. That means if we win Saturday the next update will show us a 1 seed. But what is interesting if we win either Auburn or Bama will have lost since they face off on Saturday. That could mean the Gators get a 1 seed in the South or Midwest, instead of the West. Either way Raleigh or Lexington are looking more likely as our Round 1-2 destinations.

As to the SECT seeding....
Florida looks to be in the drivers seat to finish 3rd or better in the SEC regular season. Alabama has the toughest schedule by far to close out. They have to play home Auburn, at Missouri, home Kentucky, home Miss State, at Tenn, home Florida, at Auburn. All 7 games are against ranked teams. Good luck with that. The unknown will Florida be able to surpass Bama from 2 games down. Our last away game at Bama might have the SEC #1 seed on the line when we get there. Auburn finishes with 5 ranked teams, Texas A&M has 4, and Florida 3. One thing to remember, if Florida and Auburn end in a tie, the Gators have the tiebreaker with our win against them.