Path to One-Seed in NCAA Tournament Opens for Gators

A major conversation over the past few weeks has been whether the No. 5 Florida Gators can overtake the No. 4 UConn Huskies for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Well, the pathway to the final top seed for Florida has seemingly become quite realistic thanks to the Huskies being upset on Saturday, while the Gators edged out a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

“UConn’s bad loss gives Florida the fourth No. 1 seed, as the Gators take on Kentucky right now,” ESPN’s Joe Lunardi wrote in his Bracketology March Madness watch guide.

After Florida’s win over Kentucky, Lunardi reflected his pregame belief in his updated bracketology, giving the Gators the fourth one-seed behind Duke, Michigan and Arizona.

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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 8, 2026

Entering the day, the two programs were in a tight race for the one seed. Both have solid resumes and the stats to back up their case to the selection committee.

UConn’s resume leans on its dominance against non-conference opponents. The Huskies have thwarted No. 7 BYU, No. 13 Illinois, No. 21 Kansas and even the Gators.

Meanwhile, Florida’s stranglehold on the SEC is its biggest strength. Florida has 13 conference wins by double-digits this season, and also has two wins by at least 30 points against SEC opponents. Florida's major victories include No. 20 Arkansas, No. 25 Kentucky, No. 23 Alabama, at No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Tennessee and No. 18 Georgia.

This surge over the past few weeks has let them reclaim the national spotlight it once held entering the year. The Gators 11-winning streak has resulted in them rising all the way into the top five in the top 25.

One downside to the Gators' 2025-26 resume is their work in the non-conference. While Florida has logged wins over Miami and Florida State, they also lost to No. 13 Arizona, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 UConn and TCU.

However, the slip-ups to the Wildcats, Blue Devils and Huskies each came on the road or at neutral sites that favored their opponents, which has people thinking differently about the losses.

Another area currently in Florida’s favor is its NET ranking. Before Saturday’s contests, the Gators sat above the Huskies in the NET ranking, ranking as the No. 4 team in this category, compared to the Huskies being ranked at No. 8. That should stay intact with the given results for each team.

There is still much basketball to be played for both programs, though. If Florida were to stumble in the SEC tournament and not take it home for the second straight year, then that could leave the door open for UConn to reclaim the seeding should they win their respective conference tournament.

Should Florida clinch a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, it would mark the first time in program history that the Gators accomplish such in back-to-back seasons.