Florida Opens as 1-point to Defeat Virginia Tech in First Round of March Madness

The Florida Gators have the slightest advantage of defeating Virginia Tech in round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, March Madness.

The Florida Gators men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. This will be the fourth time in head coach Mike White's tenure with the program to enter the tournament and might be one of his best shots of getting the team far along since the Chiozza miracle in 2017.

Opening as a 7-seed, Florida will face off against 10-seed Virginia Tech in the opening round of the tournament. According to CBSSports, Florida opens as a one-point favorite (-1), defeating the Hokies. 

The Gators finished the season with a 14-9 overall record and a 9-7 conference record. The team finished its season losing three out of its final four games, though the team faced off against much tougher competition than many, with losses against NCAA Tournament.

The opening round of the tournament is currently set for Friday, March 19 at 12:15 PM.

As for Virginia Tech, its men's basketball team finished with an overall record of 15-6, and a conference record of 9-4, finishing as the third-ranked team in the ACC, ahead of ACC Championship winner Georgia Tech. Like the Gators, however,  the Hokies were unable to get it done in the ACC Tournament and lost two of its final four games of the season.

The Gators will be intriguing to watch in the tournament. A perpetually inconsistent squad, Florida has shown flashes of brilliance, and unbelievable lapses throughout its season. While it currently holds one of the best point guards in the SEC in Tre Mann, the team has inconsistency surrounding him.

At times, the Gators look dominant, led by big-men Collin Castleton and Anthony Duruju. It is clear, however, that Florida hasn't been able to get the most out of every player week-in-and-week-out. Simply put, this is do-or-die time for Florida, as White stated following the team's selection into the tournament.

"But again, that SEC schedule down the stretch was hard for all of us. Some executed a little bit better than others, but overall a really strong year for the SEC. I know Greg [Sankey] and Dan [Leibovitz] and the powers that be in that league have got to be really proud.”