Florida Opens As Slight Favorite To Win It All

NCAA West Region top seed Florida never quite made it to the top of the national polls this season, crowded out as it was by Auburn and Tennessee in the historically deep Southeastern Conference. That was then.

Florida (30-4), the No. 4 overall seed, opened as a very slim betting favorite to win the NCAA tournament, slightly ahead of fellow No. 1 seeds Duke, Auburn and Houston, in that order.

While the Gators are technically in the West Region, their first weekend will be sent in Raleigh, N.C., where they open against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion Norfolk State.

Travel would come later — the West Sweet Sixteen will be played in San Francisco.

The Gators have become the cognoscenti’s choice, with ESPN analysts Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas and Jason Williams picking them to win it all on selection Sunday. It they manage, it would be their third national title after posting a two-peat in 2006-07 behind Al Horford and Yannick Noah.

“We can’t let it change who we’ve been over the course of the season,” Florida coach Todd Golden told the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun of the national notoriety.

“I’m pretty confident our guys will be good that way. I think this group enjoys being in an underdog role and kind of creating that mentality if it’s not there already. But it’s definitely something we’re going to have to manage and deal with over the next few days, for sure.”

The Gators have won 12 of their last 13 games, and they enter the NCAAs after convincing victories over Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee in the SEC tournament.

First-team AP All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. leads the efficient Gators’ balanced attack, averaging 17.9 points, 2.9 threes and and 4.3 assists per game. He scored at least 22 points in four of the last five games, which included two wins over Alabama and one over Tennessee in the SEC finals.

The Gators are averaging 85.4 points per game, third in Division I, and they are first in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.

Big men 6-11 Alex Condon and 6-9 Thomas Haugh have helped Florida to a plus-8 rebounding margin, tied for sixth in the NCAA. Both can score from the perimeter, creating problems for opposing defenses.

The Gators are looking to avenge a first-round 2024 tournament loss, when they fell to Colorado 102-100 as a No. 7 seed.

“We know what March Madness is,” Haugh said. “Upsets … happen all the time. So we just try not to be the team that gets upset. You know, we’re going to go into practice with that same mentality that we’re the underdogs and take that to the tournament like that way.”

Other top seeds in the West

No. 2 Saint John’s, No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 4 Maryland are the other top seeds in the West, and each will begin play at different site. Saint John’s opens in Providence, Texas Tech in Wichita, and Maryland in Seattle.

Two-time defending champion UConn is the eighth seed and will meet Oklahoma in the other first-round game in Raleigh.

The bracket has four of tournament-record 14 SEC teams — Florida, No. 6 seed Missouri, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 10 Arkansas. Missouri and Arkansas could meet in a second-round game if both advance.

Players to watch

RJ Luis Jr., 6-7, Saint John’s

Luis was named the Big East player of the year after averaging 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. A fluid mid-range shooter in a sport that has gone away from that, Luis scored 27 of his 29 points in the second half of the Johnnies’ 82-66 victory over Creighton in the Big East tournament final.

JT Toppin, 6-7, Texas Tech

New Mexico transfer JT is no relation to Indiana Pacers’ athletic Obi Toppin, but their games are similar. Athletic Toppin led the Red Raiders in scoring (18.1 points) and rebounding (9.2) and had a 41-point game against Arizona State.

PJ Haggerty, 6-3, Memphis

Haggerty, an aggressive transfer from Tulsa, led the American Conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game while adding 3.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds. He had 83 points, 25 rebounds and 11 assists in the Tigers’ three-game run to American tournament title.

Hunter Dickinson, 7-1, Kansas

Kansas relies heavily on Dickinson, a load inside who is averaging a double-double for the Jayhawks, 17.6 points and 10.0 rebounds. He has led the Big 12 in field goals the last two season and is a career 58.6 percent shooter from the floor.

West Regional Schedule

^{(Games in Providence, Seattle, Wichita, Raleigh, N.C.)}

First/Second Round (all times ET)

March 20

No. 7 Kansas vs No. 10 Arkansas, Providence, 7:10, CBS

No. 6 Missouri vs No. 11 Drake, Wichita, 7:35, truTV

No. 2 Saint John’s vs No. 15 Omaha, Providence, 9:45, CBS

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. UNC-Wilmington, Wichita, 10:10, truTV

March 21

No. 5 Memphis vs No. 12 Colorado State, Seattle, 2, TBS

No. 4 Maryland vs No. 13 Grand Canyon, Seattle, 4:30, TBS

No. 1 Florida vs No. 16 Norfolk State, Raleigh, 6:50, TNT

No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma, Raleigh, 9:25, TNT

March 22

Missouri/Drake winner vs Texas Tech/UNC-Wilmington winner

Saint John’s/Omaha winner vs Kansas/Arkansas winner

March 23

Florida/Norfolk State winner vs UConn/Oklahoma winner

Maryland/Grand Canyon winner vs Memphis/Colorado State winner

Sweet Sixteen

_{(Games in San Francisco)}

March 27

Regional Finals

March 29