Does Florida Need to Win the SEC Tournament to Clinch a One-Seed in the NCAA Tournament?

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The main storyline for the fourth-ranked Florida Gators entering the postseason resides with its fight for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Unlike last season, when Florida was fighting but not a favorite for a one-seed, the Gators enter the SEC Tournament as conference regular-season champs and the favorite to clinch the fourth and final one-seed in the NCAA Tournament over UConn.

Last year, Florida needed a win over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Final to get the one-seed. This year, they may not need it. The Gators rank fourth in the NET, fourth in the KenPom and fourth in the AP Poll, with an 11-5 record in Quad-One games and 6-1 record in Quad-Two games. With that Florida does not need an SEC Tournament title if it can win one or two games in the SEC Tournament, which would give the Gators 13 Quad-One wins.

"It's a goal of ours. We want to kind of put as many feathers in our cap for this year as we possibly can," head coach Todd Golden said of potentially winning the SEC Tournament title on Selection Sunday. "But I don't think it necessarily changes the outcome of our tournament potential, whether, you know, we win it or whether we don’t.”

Todd Golden has completed the trifecta of championships, winning his first SEC regular-season title after winning the SEC and — Todd Golden completed the trifecta of championships, winning his first SEC regular-season title in 2026 after winning the SEC and NCAA tournaments last season. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

That being said, the easiest solution to getting a one-seed is, of course, taking care of business and winning the tournament, especially with UConn still lurking. The Huskies play a 16-17 Georgetown team in the Big East Tournament Semifinal on Friday, but the chance to play No. 13 St. John's — who plays Seton Hall — in the final could be the difference-maker for UConn to overtake Florida if the Gators can't take care of business.

The Huskies are currently the top-ranked two-seed in the tournament, according to Joe Lunardi's bracketology, and rank ninth in the NET, 10th in the KenPom, have a 7-2 record in Quad-One games and have a 6-1 record in Quad-Two games. There is also, of course, its win over Florida in December.

"I think part of that depends on the other teams as well. I think we're in a great spot now, especially compared to last week," Golden said. "We just have to worry about we can control. If we win the games, I don't think we have anything to worry about. If we don't, then we start to worry and start allowing other people to dictate and determine what happens with us.

"... I think we have the ability to go get it, but we can't take it for granted. We can't slip up.”

That being said, there is very little difference in seeding between the fourth No. 1 seed and the first No. 2 seed. However, Golden understands that any little analytical advantage helps. Last year is a prime example.

"It's somewhere probably in between critical and helpful, like, it's more than helpful, less than critical," Golden said of the advantage of the fourth one-seed. "But, you know, it's something that we take pride in our program all the time, like, trying to gain that incremental advantage, right? So, you want to play, even if it just saves you a couple percentage points of an opportunity to win, like, we want to do that. So, you know, one gives you a little bit better of a chance. So, we're going to try to get that thing done.”

Still, none of that matters if Florida cannot handle its business in the SEC Tournament, which starts on Friday against Kentucky, marking the third matchup between the Gators and the Wildcats this season. Florida is riding an 11-game winning streak into the postseason, hoping to go undefeated in March for the second season in a row.

"I’m not from the school of thought that you should lose before the postseason because you want to remember how that feels," Golden said. "No. I remember how Auburn feels, I remember how Missouri feels and we don’t want to feel that way. This team is mature, that’s just the reality.

"We’ve got some studs who can handle the expectation at this point. I think that was an issue for us early in the year, but we battled through that and have grown up a lot."