Three Florida universities head to the NCAA tournament, but it might not be the trifecta people put their money on.
Even though the Gators crumbled in Sundays Southeastern Conference tournament final, the University of Florida was a shoe-in for a spot in the highly-anticipated March hoops tourney.
The Billy Donovan-led team secured a No. 3 seed in the South, and will start its bracket in a game against 14-seed Northwestern State, who entered the Southland Conference tournament as the country's top-scoring team. That game will be held in Austin on Friday.
Joining the Gators on the Texas court will be the University of Miami. The Hurricanes blazed their way through the end of the season to take the ACC regular season championship as well as their first conference tournament championship against powerhouse North Carolina. The Hurricanes nabbed a No. 2 seed in the East. They face off against Pacific, a 15 seed, in their first match-up.
As one of this years biggest surprises, Florida Gulf Coast University makes its inaugural appearance in the NCAAs biggest basketball event, after winning the Atlantic Sun conference tournament and picking a 15 seed. The Fort Myers team will clash with Georgetown in Philadelphia Friday for its first game, as part of the South region.
CBS Sports' Clark Kellogg had high praise for the team during the selection show."I love Florida Gulf Coast. That team can play basketball, score and defend at a high level," the analyst said.
If the Gators and FGCU get it done in their first two games, the two Florida teams could face off at the end of March.
Will one of these teams make it to the April 8 championship game in Atlanta? Only time will tell.
