The Florida Gators entered the postseason with plenty of hype and plenty of aspirations, hoping to clinch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row for the first time in program history.
However, a thumping by four-seed Vanderbilt on Saturday puts the Gators’ hopes for that fourth one-seed in the hands of the tournament committee, with Florida, Houston and UConn now all in strong contention. Despite the loss, head coach Todd Golden still believes the Gators have done enough to lock up the fourth No. 1 seed behind Duke, Michigan and Arizona.
“We haven’t lost in 54 days or something leading up to this game, playing some of the best basketball in America,” Golden said. “I do believe we’ve done enough to be the fourth 1 seed. But we’ll find out tomorrow night.”
Despite the loss to Vanderbilt, Florida head coach Todd Golden still believes the Gators have done enough to clinch a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
As it stands, Florida’s strength relies upon its regular-season dominance in the SEC, finishing with a 16-2 record in league play with notable wins over Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky (twice). Additionally, the Gators’ No. 4 ranking in the NET and No. 4 ranking in the KenPom, highlighted by a 12-6 Quad-One record after Saturday and 6-1 Quad-Two record only strengthens Florida’s chances.
“Looking at Quad 1 wins, I think we’re in a good spot that way,” Golden said. “Analytically, the predictive metrics, whether it’s KenPom, Torvik, we’re top four in all those by a wide margin. It’s really not close.”
However, UConn, who owns a head-to-head victory over Florida from non-conference play, and Houston will each have their chance to improve their chances in the Big East and Big 12 tournament title games. UConn, ranked 10th in the NET and ninth in the KenPom, plays AP No. 13 Saint Johns on Saturday night, while Houston, ranked fifth in both the NET and KenPom, is currently playing AP No. 2 Arizona.
As it stands, wins for either team could be enough to push Florida back to a two-seed, depending on how the tournament committee feels this close to Selection Sunday. Due to proximity and tradition with how the committee takes heed of conference tournaments, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi believes Florida will remain a one-seed despite the loss. He kept the Gators as a one-seed in his most-recent Bracketology update.
“Florida was the outright champion of a far stronger league. UConn finished second in a far weaker league. I know the UConn and Big East people won’t want to hear that but I fully expect that Florida is going to be the No. 1 seed in the South [Sunday] night,” he said on ESPN shortly after Florida’s loss. “And the committee over the years, for all the slings and arrows they take, they’re very good at not overreacting to a single result.
“And that’s what we’re often guilty of, the folks in our seats. I think they’re gonna end up keeping Florida right where they are.”
The Florida Gators won its first SEC regular-season title since 2014 this season. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI
Meanwhile, Golden and the Gators find themselves not playing on Selection Sunday for the first time since the 2022-23 season. Florida will fly back to Gainesville on Saturday night, take the day off and watch the Selection Sunday show and return to practice on Monday, hoping to turn Saturday’s woes into a deep run in the tournament.
“A lot that we can improve upon over the next couple days before we get ready for the NCAA tournament,” Golden said. “As I told the team in the locker room, very disappointed to not be playing on Sunday again. But everything that we — our goal at the beginning of the year is still in front of us in terms of being able to play for a national championship.”
The 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday show is on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET, airing live on CBS.