College basketball’s most anticipated day approaches. Selection Sunday sets the field for the NCAA basketball tournament, and several Florida teams anticipate the announcement.
The defending national champion Florida Gators are likely to be a No. 1 seed, regardless of results in the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Gators are scheduled to face Kentucky on Friday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Florida will most likely be sent to the Tampa regional, allowing fans in the Sunshine State to see the Gators in the first two rounds. The South Regional will be played in Houston in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
USF (23-8) could also be in the South Regional but will likely not play in the Bulls’ home city. South Florida is projected as a No. 11 seed in the most recent ESPN Bracketology. USF entered the American Athletic Conference tournament as the top seed. They will play a semifinal game on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET against the winner of Friday’s game between UAB and Charlotte.
If USF wins the conference tournament, it will gain an automatic bid into the field of 68. If the Bulls do not win the tournament, they will certainly be on the bubble to make it in as an at-large team.
The Miami Hurricanes (25-7) are likely to be in the field. After beating Louisville on Thursday in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, the Hurricanes are scheduled to face Virginia Friday night in the semifinals. If they win, they will advance to face the winner of the Duke-Clemson matchup. For Miami, it’s less of a question of in or out, but of seeding. ESPN’s Bracketology has them projected as a No. 7 seed for the tournament.
Interestingly, ESPN projects Miami to face UCF in the first round. While that is likely to change, the Knights (21-11) have been projected as an at-large team for most of the last several months. The Knights were knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday by Arizona, 81-59, so all Johnny Dawkins’ team can do is sit and wait. ESPN Bracketology lists UCF among the last eight teams in the field, but still on the bubble.
No other teams in the state are expected to make the NCAA Tournament field. Florida State (18-15) was knocked out of the ACC tournament. The Seminoles needed to win the conference’s automatic bid to get into the Big Dance.
FAU (18-15) was knocked out of the AAC Tournament by North Texas on Thursday. In the Atlantic Sun conference tournament, Florida Gulf Coast was eliminated in the semifinals, while Stetson was knocked out in the quarterfinals. Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida were eliminated in the first round. Only the conference tournament champions, Queens, will earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
