March 8, 2026, 2:23 p.m. ET
There is a new No. 1 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology update following the conclusion of the men’s college basketball regular season on Saturday.
The defending 2025 national champion Florida Gators, who began the campaign as a No. 2 seed in Joe Lunardi’s March Madness predictions, are now predicted to take the top seed in the South Region after closing out the schedule with an 11-game winning streak, securing a 25-6 overall record along with a tidy 16-2 mark in SEC play.
It is the first time all season that they earned one of the four top spots in the postseason prognostications. Florida fell as far as a 5-seed during the doldrums, but has put together a spectacular second half that has Todd Golden looking for his second ring in as many years.
The Orange and Blue are paired up with either the 16th-seeded Howard Bison or Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament’s first round held in Tampa.
Top seeds in ESPN’s 2026 bracketology update
Florida joins the top tier with its No. 1 seed in the South, replacing the UConn Huskies, who beat UF back in December. The Gators now sit alongside the Duke Blue Devils, who remain the No. 1 overall seed with their perch atop the East, the Michigan Wolverines in the Midwest, and the Arizona Wildcats in the West.
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Golden’s gang has also already faced both Arizona and Duke this season, falling to the former on a neutral court in the season opener, 93-87, while just missing an upset inside Cameron Indoor Stadium against the latter, 67-66.
The Southeastern Conference once again separated itself from the pack, now carrying 11 member schools among the field of 68 after the Auburn Tigers crept back into the bracket. Meanwhile, the Big Ten dropped one team to give it 10 representatives, and the ACC and Big 12 both have eight apiece to round out Power Four representation.
Florida is the highest-seeded school in the SEC at No. 1 in the South, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 4, East), Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 5, South), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 5, West), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 5, Midwest), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 6, West), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 7, Midwest), Missouri Tigers (No. 10, East), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 10, West), Texas Longhorns (No. 10, South) and Auburn (No. 11, Midwest).
The conference has three of the last four byes, with Missouri, TAMU and Texas joining the UCF Knights in that category, while Auburn is the final team in the tournament.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.