Florida Gators
One of the teams on the bubble with the most confusing resumes to look at would have to be Florida. They have a great strength of schedule and a NET ranking of 31, along with good regular season wins over Ole Miss and LSU. But they also have bad losses to Butler and Georgia, with a three-game losing streak heading into the SEC Tournament.
That left the Gators on the wrong side of the bubble, needing a massive victory over the LSU Tigers in the quarterfinals to have any real hope. But first they had to not overlook Arkansas before hand.
Florida defeated the Razorbacks after a second-half push to set up the must-win matchup against a program that’s been distracted after the recent revelations surrounding head coach Will Wade. He wasn’t present for the battle, which the Gators took advantage of. After a key made shot by freshman Andrew Nembhard, the team got the win they really needed.
Beating LSU gives Florida another signature win to improve their Quad-1 record to 4-11. It’s now 4-12 though after losing to Auburn in the semifinals. As of now, the Gators are projected as an 11-seed, and is right around the “Last 4 In” range.
Coach White and the Gators probably needed that Auburn win to solidify their at-large chances and there’s a possibility that they won’t hear their name called for the NCAA Tournament. But they at least gave themselves a chance and got a signature win, which is more than plenty of other bubble hopefuls can say after Championship Week.