Florida Gators Reach Highest Seed Yet in ESPN Bracketology Update
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Gainesville, Fla. — No. 13 Florida Gators men’s basketball team debuted as a ninth seed at the beginning of the year in Joe Lunard’s Men’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Since then, they’ve won nine straight games by double digits resulting in a rise from No. 21 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and a gigantic leap to a third seed in Lunardi’s latest projection.
This jump to the third seed in the most recent Bracketology means they have currently surpassed Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas since the start of the season. The only SEC teams at an equal to or higher seeding than Florida are Auburn (1), Tennessee (1), Kentucky (2) and Alabama (3).
It’s been an impressive run by the Gators to start this year, winning their nine first games and having the best start to a Gators season since 2005-06. And while the team hasn’t played a daunting schedule to this point, they still have easily handled what’s in front of them, which has led to the Gators having the sixth-best NET ranking in the NCAA.
One of the reasons they are in this position is because of their star player Walter Clayton Jr. He’s averaging a resounding 18.4 points per game and knocking down 37.3 percent of his 3-point shots.
But he hasn’t been the only reason. Clayton Jr. has gotten help from multiple other Gators, but probably the most impactful has been Alijah Martin.
Martin transferred to Florida with a lot of hype surrounding him and with the added pressure of being a key piece that would fix the Gators' defense. He didn’t let it faze him though as he’s lived up to the billing so far.
The tough-nosed, physical guard is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. He’s also third on the team in rebounding (5.8 per game) and first on the team in steals (2.1 per game). And he’s doing all this while getting the opposition's best offensive player every game.
However, even with these strong showings and solid performances from their players, the Gators will be put to the test over the next few weeks.
They will get to fully show if they are one of the top teams in the country or if it was just an easy start as they get Arizona State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas in five of their next seven games.
Should they make it out of this run alive, there’s a chance they could make another jump to an even higher seeding.