Gators Falling Behind the Pack of Potential Regional Hosts

While it is not off the table yet, it’s looking less likely that the Florida Gators will be chosen as a regional host this postseason after their second-round exit in the SEC Tournament. 

The Gators were contending with schools such as TCU, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee heading into the conference tournaments for those final few regional host spots. 

However, four of those five are still in their respective conference tournament, which has now put the Gators behind the eight ball. TCU is playing in the BIG 12 championship, Tennessee and Ole Miss are in the SEC Tournament semifinals and Georgia Tech is in the ACC Semifinals. 

A big reason this hurts for Florida is that they entered the SEC Tournament with fewer quad-one wins than Tennessee and Ole Miss. They had the chance to expand their quad-one victories, but they are now stuck at 11 with their loss to Ole Miss. 

Additionally, the Gators' RPI dropped to No. 18 in the country with their loss to the Rebels in the second round. Their RPI was something they were clinging to when it came to what separated them from the rest of the crowd. Now, the schools mentioned previously that the Gators are competing with are above them except for Georgia Tech. 

That is why their second-round matchup against Ole Miss was so important. If they had come out victorious, they could have prevented one team from potentially hosting and kept themselves in the running for a spot. Florida would also have had the chance to boost their resume even further with the remaining SEC teams left on the board. 

It should not be fully disappointing if the Gators get picked over for a regional, though. They have a very long list of injuries that played a part in their 1-11 start in the SEC. It’s arguably more impressive to overcome these difficulties and put themselves in a spot where they have the chance to host a regional this year. Not many expected them to even be in this position. 

One reason no one thought they would make the postseason is because it had not even been done from the position they were in. 

“I told the team at the end, you probably need to take some time and reflect on the fact on what just happened, to be 1-11 and end up at 15 wins in the league,” Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after their series win over Alabama. “No one's ever done that since the league expanded in ‘92, but obviously, our job is not finished.”

Florida will figure out if they are hosting or where they are heading on Monday, May 26, at noon EDT. That is when the selection show for the postseason begins. It will be broadcast on ESPN 2.

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