No. 4 seed Florida will face No. 13 East Tennessee State in Orlando
The Gators are Orlando bound for their first NCAA Tournament since the 2013-2014 season.
No. 4 seed Florida (24-8, 14-4 SEC) will square off against No. 13 seed East Tennessee State (27-7) on Thursday at 3:10 p.m. ET on truTV in the Amway Center as part of the East Region. ETSU won the Southern tournament and is a Southern Confernece regular-season co-champion with a 14-4 league record. If the Gators were to win Thursday, they’d face either No. 5 seed Virginia or No. 12 seed UNC-Wilmington on Saturday.
Florida earned a No. 4 seed after playing its first 11 games of the season away from home and post winning streaks of seven and then nine contests this season.
"Our guys have withstood a long, grueling season, with only playing a few games at home because of our unique circumstances, and they’ve handled it well,” Florida head coach Mike White said in a school release. “They’re very deserving of this. We’re really excited to play in front of Gator fans in Orlando, but more importantly we have to get back to playing well.”
Also notably in Florida's bracket: No. 2 Duke (which defeated Florida 84-74 in December), No. 7 South Carolina (which went 1-1 against the Gators this season) and No. 15 Troy (former Gators wing DeVon Walker's new destination).
White is the fourth coach in program history to lead Florida to the NCAA Tournament, joining Billy Donovan, Lon Kruger and Norm Sloan. However, he's the first to do so within his first two seasons. The Gators are 4-0 all-time vs. ETSU, having not faced the Buccaneers since 1980, and are 39-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament action with two national championships and five Final Four berths.
EAST REGION
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary's/New Orleans (Thursday, Buffalo, NY)
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech (Thursday, Buffalo, NY)
No. 5 Virginia vs. No. 12 UNC Wilmington (Thursday, Orlando, FL)
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 13 East Tennessee State (Thursday, Orlando, FL)
No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 Providence/USC (Friday, Tulsa, OK)
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 New Mexico State (Friday, Tulsa, OK)
No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Marquette (Friday, Greenville, SC)
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy (Friday, Greenville, SC)
WEST REGION
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota State (Thursday, Salt Lake City, UT)
No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt (Thursday, Salt Lake City, UT)
No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Princeton (Thursday, Buffalo, NY)
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Bucknell (Thursday, Buffalo, NY)
No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Xavier (Thursday, Orlando, FL)
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 FGCU (Thursday, Orlando, FL)
No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 VCU (Thursday, Salt Lake City, UT)
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota (Thursday, Salt Lake City, UT)
MIDWEST REGION
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 NC Central/UC Davis (Friday, Tulsa, OK)
No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Michigan State (Friday, Tulsa, OK)
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Nevada (Thursday, Milwaukee, WI)
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Vermont (Thursday, Milwaukee, WI)
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Rhode Island (Friday, Sacramento, CA)
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona (Friday, Sacramento, CA)
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State (Friday, Indianapolis, IN)
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State (Friday, Indianapolis, IN)
SOUTH REGION
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern (Friday, Greenville, SC)
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall (Friday, Greenville, SC)
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee (Thursday, Milwaukee, WI)
No. 4 Butler vs. No. 13 Winthrop (Thursday, Milwaukee, WI)
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Kansas State/Wake Forest (Friday, Sacramento, CA)
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Kent State (Friday, Sacramento, CA)
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Wichita State (Friday, Indianapolis, IN)
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Northern Kentucky (Friday, Indianapolis, IN)
Check back with Inside the Gators, as we’ll have more shortly on Florida’s opening weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
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