Florida making strong push for No. 1 seed consideration in NCAA Tournament

The Gators are poised to make a lot of noise in March Madness this season

Feb 28, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators forward/center Alex Condon (21) drives to the basket against Arkansas Razorbacks wing Billy Richmond III (24) during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. / Travis Register-Imagn Images

Hey, remember the Florida Gators? The National Champions from a season ago?

Well, they’re back.

In case you have been swept up in the dominance of Duke, Michigan, and Arizona, the Gators have slowly found themselves this year and appear to be entering the NCAA Tournament overlooked and underrated.

Florida, trying to replace its entire backcourt, lost four of its opening nine games of the season to then No. 13 Arizona, TCU, No. 4 Duke, and No. 5 UConn while not looking overly impressive in wins against Florida State and Miami.

Then, the calendar flipped to 2026, and Todd Golden’s team found itself.

After a two-point loss on the road to Missouri on January 3, the Gators have lost one game and earned at least a share of the SEC regular season title. Frankly, the team has been overwhelming its opponents on a nightly basis.

Its frontcourt of Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu is the best in the country while its guards, Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland, have figured out their roles on the team as two of the most coveted players in the transfer portal last spring.

Its nine-game winning streak has landed the Gators as the No. 5 team in the AP Poll this week and elevated its projected NCAA Tournament seeding after being on the 3-line during the selection committee’s Top 16 reveal last week.

Given its dominant stretch paired with losses from the other top teams Florida should be in mix for the final No. 1 seed after a 34-point undressing of Arkansas on Saturday night.

The Blue Devils, Wolverines, and Wildcats virtually have the other top seeds locked up, but the Gators could be in a battle with UConn for the final spot after Iowa State and Houston have stumbled recently.

Florida has the metrics and resume to be included with the best teams in the country and is a team that no one will want to see in its region on Selection Sunday. It took time but Todd Golden has a monster that looks every bit as good, if not better, than last year’s squad.