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Florida Gators are the top overall seed in ESPN's latest bracketology for the NCAA Tournament, which has expanded to 76 teams. The first round will feature them against Long Island and Vermont in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The hottest news in the men's college basketball world is the recent expansion of the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams, which sent a ripple through ESPN's latest bracketology update. However, while a few seed lines are a little crowded, Joe Lunardi's latest offering still looks like a 64- or 68-team bracket.
"We'll have the same symmetry as always by the first Thursday of the tournament, and a lot more good than bad will have transpired by then," he notes. "In particular, four more single-bid conferences will have won a tournament game (and generated essential revenue for their members). Even better, six of the weakest 12 at-large teams — formerly the 'Last Four In,' 'First Four Out' and 'Next Four Out' — will have earned their way into the main bracket on the court instead of in the committee room."
Lunardi also points out, "There will be unintended consequences, of course: namely, too many middling major conference entries." Of course, the same thing was said in 1975 when at-large bids were first introduced. C'est la vie.
In the first edition of the bracketology's expanded format, the Florida Gators remain the top overall seed and the No. 1 seed in the East Region, which matches them up with the two projected No. 16 seeds — the Long Island Sharks and Vermont Catamounts — in the first round held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Florida still holds both the top overall seed as well as the No. 1 spot in the East, while the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines remain the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and the Duke Blue Devils still sit atop the South. However, the Michigan State Spartans lost their grip on the top spot in the West, with the Illinois Illini taking over in this update.
Being the top seed indicates that Florida is favored to perform well in the tournament, potentially giving them an easier path to advance.
The NCAA Tournament has expanded to 76 teams this year, allowing for more entries and competition.
Florida will face the Long Island Sharks and Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the tournament.
The expansion may lead to an influx of middling major conference teams and could affect the overall competitiveness of the tournament.
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The Southeastern Conference added a school to its tally this time around — now with 13 teams among the expanded field of 76 teams — followed by the Big Ten with 12, the Big 12 with nine and the Atlantic Coast Conference with eight. Outside of the Power Four, the Big East boasts six teams in the tournament projections, while the West Coast, Atlantic 10 and Atlantic Sun conferences still have a pair, rounding out those with more than one school included.
Florida headlines the SEC with the top seed in the East, while the Arkansas Razorbacks check in with the No. 2 seed in the Midwest. They are followed by the Texas Longhorns (No. 3, South), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 4, West), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 5, Midwest), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 6, East), Missouri Tigers (No. 7, West), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 8, West), Auburn Tigers (No. 8, Midwest), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 8, South), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 10, East), LSU Tigers (No. 11, Midwest) and Oklahoma Sooners (No. 12, South) respectively.
Oklahoma is among the last four in, while the Mississippi State Bulldogs are the first team in the next four out category — schools that rank 81-84 that missed the cut.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball a top overall seed in ESPN's May bracketology