Florida to Face Georgia in Second Round of SEC Tournament
Florida’s round two opponent is set.
The Georgia Bulldogs are moving on in the 2023-24 SEC Tournament field after handing the Missouri Tigers their 19th-and-final league loss of the year on Wednesday night in Nashville.
As a result, the conference's final second-round matchup on Thursday will feature a trilogy contest between the No. 11 Dawgs and No. 6 Gators.
It’s just the fourth time Florida-Georgia will take place in the league tournament.
After an eventful first two games between the old SEC foes during the regular season, the impending chapter in rivalry’s lore has the potential to bring more drama thanks to the grander stage the SEC Tournament provides.
The Gators have held the series advantage in the win-loss column for most of its history, resting 124-101 all-time against the Bulldogs.
That fact has remained true of late, including this season, with Florida downing Georgia in both Gainesville and Athens.
However, it hasn’t come easy.
In the first meeting in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Jan. 27, the Gators led by 21 in the second-half before squandering the sizable advantage to allow the Bulldogs to force overtime. Ultimately, Florida prevailed 102-98 in OT to post a tally in the win column, albeit with more late game action than once expected.
The rematch brought a similar twist but in the opposite direction, as the Dawgs allowed a double-digit advantage to slip away en route to an 88-82 Gators’ win in Athens.
The close deciding margins have left many asking: What’s in store for round three? They won’t have to wait long to find out.
Florida is currently vying to improve its resume for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes with a strong showing in Nashville this conference tournament season. The Gators garnered buzz to be selected as high as a No. 6 seed prior to a poor loss to Vanderbilt to end the regular season on Saturday.
They’ve since fallen down a seed-line, predicted to assume a No. 7 seed — and even a No. 8 seed by some bracketologists — in the Field of 68 this March.
Georgia, on the other hand, will need to win the SEC Tournament to earn an automatic qualification into March Madness if it wants to compete in the postseason.
Another high-emotion affair between the two teams is expected as a result.
Head coach Todd Golden also aims to move to 5-0 against his predecessor — now-Georgia head coach Mike White — after two seasons at the helm at UF.
The contest, scheduled for 25 minutes after the finish of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Ole Miss at 7 p.m. ET, is set to begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET.
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