Can Florida repeat as national champion in March Madness? Experts weigh in.

The chances for Florida basketball repeating as national champions didn’t look promising in early December.

From a 5-4 start, the No. 4 Florida Gators (26-7) have won 21 of their last 24 games, earning an SEC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the South Region of the Men’s NCAA Tournament.

Advertisement

UF failed to repeat as SEC Tournament champion, as the Gators were upset by Vanderbilt, 91-74, in the conference tournament semifinals. But a larger prize awaits. Florida will get the benefit of opening tournament play in its home state, The Gators will open Friday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, facing the winner of the First Four game between No. 16 seeds Lehigh and Prairie View A&M.

“We’re going to definitely learn from it,” Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said of the Vanderbilt loss. “We’re gonna use it to our advantage for sure.’”

Here are how some college basketball experts believe Florida will fare in March Madness:

Chris Dortch, editor, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook

Dortch is high on Florida’s potential and isn’t scared off about how the Gators performed in the SEC Tournament.

Advertisement

“I don’t think that Vanderbilt game means all that much,” Dortch said. “I mean it was a surprising result, sure, but it was one of those days where everything they tossed up went in. You know, Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner are a tough little backcourt to handle.”

Dortch said Florida has proven it can overcome inconsistent perimeter shooting (30.8% from 3-point range) in other areas.

“If you look at their strengths and how they get things done, I mean, defensively and offensively their frontline is just so formidable,” Dortch said. “I think when you get into the NCAA Tournament, everybody wants to play fast, and some do during the regular season, but when you get into the Big Dance the games slow down, you know, heartrates increase and pressure builds.

“I think Florida is still equipped to handle that because they can go inside, they can defend the post…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/florida-repeat-national-champion-march-080201356.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-03-18 08:02:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.