The Florida Gators are back in the Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 thanks to a pair of opening-round wins over the 16th-seeded Norfolk State Spartans and eighth-seeded UConn Huskies. Now, just four games separate the program from its first national championship since 2007.
The Gators handled the Spartans pretty well, routing them to the tune of a 95-69 final score, but the final 25 minutes of play were lackadaisical at best for the Orange and Blue. Todd Golden's team needed a late rally on Sunday to upend the two-time defending national champs, 77-75, but a win is a win at the end of the day.
With 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament field of play, The Athletic's Jim Root put together his power rankings, with Florida coming in at No. 2 — the highest-ranked Southeastern Conference school of the bunch.
"What a win for the Gators, who survived an outstanding performance from reigning national champion UConn to escape with a 77-75 victory," Root begins.
"Alijah Martin led the way early and made a couple of clutch plays late, but it was the sublime shot-making of Walter Clayton Jr. that ultimately nudged Florida past Dan Hurley’s team. Florida is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and gets Maryland on Thursday night in San Francisco."
Only the Duke Blue Devils — the No. 1 seed in the East Region — were ranked higher.
SEC schools in The Athletic's Sweet 16 rerank
The Gators came in at No. 2, as noted above, while the Auburn Tigers are ranked fourth followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 6), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 7) and Kentucky Wildcats (No. 10) to round out the top 10. The Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks hold the final two spots at Nos. 15 and 16, respectively.
The Athletic's full Sweet 16 rerank
- Duke Blue Devils
- Florida Gators
- Houston Cougars
- Auburn Tigers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Maryland Terrapins
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Michigan Wolverines
- Arizona Wildcats
- Purdue Boilermakers
- BYU Cougars
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Arkansas Razorbacks
Next up for Florida
The Gators will take on the fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins on Thursday, March 27, for the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in San Francisco at the Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:39 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast nationally on TBS.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: March Madness: The Athletic ranks Florida in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
