2017 NCAA Tournament: Florida vs. East Tennessee State preview, prediction, TV schedule

The No. 4 seeded Florida Gators will take on the SoCon winning No. 13 seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

TV schedule: Thursday, March 16, 3:10 p.m. ET, TruTV

The Florida Gators head into the 2017 NCAA Tournament with some good news – they will not be seeing the Vanderbilt Commodores unless they both make it to the Final Four.

Florida, who have looked like one of the best all-around teams in the country at times this season, have lost to the Commodores three times, including in the 2017 SEC Tournament quarterfinals. If you take away their losses to Vanderbilt, the Gators are likely a No. 2 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

As a No. 4 seed, however, Florida will face a sneaky-good East Tennessee State Buccaneers’ squad who earned the Southern Conference’s AQ-bid by winning the conference tournament.

ETSU has quickly jumped to the forefront of “potential upset” teams, as they boast a solid team that is extremely adept at scoring. Going 14-4 in conference play, this team’s weak non-conference schedule was bolstered by close games against UNC-Wilmington, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. Although they have yet to face elite opposition this season, ETSU has proven that they can hang with the athleticism of bigger programs when it counts.

Unfortunately, the Buccaneers are not going to pull off the upset. Just because the Gators were unable to figure out how to beat Vanderbilt does not mean that this team is any less dangerous than it has been all season long. Florida is a legitimate Final Four threat and should cruise to the next round and past ETSU with ease.

Next: 5 most likely first round upsets

It’s a shame that the Buccaneers weren’t placed against a weaker team because they definitely are capable of winning a game in the Big Dance.

Prediction: Florida 72, ETSU 60