Where Florida Landed in the NCAA's First Tournament Bracket Preview

The NCAA Tournament Committee on Saturday released its first list of top 16 seeds with the AP No. 12 Florida Gators listed as the No. 9 overall seed and top three-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida joins Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga as a three-seed and is the highest-seeded SEC team. Vanderbilt, the No. 15 overall seed, is slated as a four-seed in the preview.

The current #MarchMadness Top 16 seeds 👀

1. Michigan
2. Duke
3. Arizona
4. Iowa State
5. UConn
6. Houston
7. Illinois
8. Purdue
9. Florida
10. Kansas
11. Nebraska
12. Gonzaga
13. Texas Tech
14. Michigan State
15. Vanderbilt
16. Virginia pic.twitter.com/DwOQ6EXqE0
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 21, 2026

The Gators continue to solidify itself as one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment as winners of its last seven games, including Saturday's 94-75 win over Ole Miss. The win, Florida's sixth straight on the road, also keeps the Gators atop the SEC standings by at least two games over Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas.

Despite the national hype gaining for the Gators, head coach Todd Golden has emphasized the need for the team to keep focused on its current opponent rather than its postseason aspirations.

"You’re in a spot where you have five leagues games left, and you have a two-game lead in the league, which is an incredible spot to be in. But we can't necessarily focus on that or worry about it," he said on Friday. "The reality is, at the same time, having that goal in front of us, we still have to approach and focus on our day to day, just getting better."

Golden is also emphasizing the need for his players to stay focused on the team goals as midseason awards and watch lists come in, saying those awards don't "really mean s***."

"We just want to be in the best position possible. We want to try to win the league," Golden said. "We want to be the highest seed possible and go as deep in March as we can. And that's how I'll judge the job I do independently, and how our staff has done and our players have done."

Florida (21-6, 12-2 SEC) remains on the road on Tuesday with a game against Texas (17-9, 8-5 SEC) on Wednesday before hosting No. 20 Arkansas (19-7, 9-4 SEC) on Saturday. Tip-off against the Longhorns is at 7 p.m. ET, while tip-off against the Razorbacks is at 8:30 p.m.

Florida then plays Mississippi State at home on March 3 (8 p.m.) before rounding out the season on the road at Kentucky on March 7 (4 p.m.), hoping to win its first SEC regular season title in 12 years.