The Florida Gators men’s basketball team earned the one seed of the West Region in the NCAA Tournament, announced by the selection committee on Sunday evening. Florida was the 4th overall seed behind Auburn, Duke, and Houston. The Gators will take on 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, which was head coach Todd Golden’s preferred destination.
Here’s a look at the rest of the West Region, which includes four SEC teams.
WEST REGION
1. Florida
2. Saint John’s
3. Texas Tech
4. Maryland
5. Memphis
6. Missouri
7. Kansas
8. UConn
9. Oklahoma
10. Arkansas
11. Drake
12. Colorado State
13. Grand Canyon
14. UNCW
15. Omaha
16. Norfolk State
The announcement came hours after Florida won the SEC Tournament Championship for the 5th time in program history. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. was named Tournament MVP while senior guard Will Richard made the All-Tournament Team.
Florida will look to win their first NCAA Tournament game under head coach Todd Golden. The Gators lost a thrilling game vs Colorado in the opening round last year.
“We’re in much better shape going into the NCAA tournament this year than last year,” Golden said on Sunday. “Trying to get through Micah’s injury, playing four games in four days. I thought we were a little fatigued. I think this year we’ll be more ready to go as we step into the NCAA tournament this week.”
Shall Florida advance past the round of 64, they would take on the winner of UConn vs Oklahoma.
The SEC set an NCAA record with 14 teams in the field. Here’s the full NCAA Tournament bracket.