Here’s where Florida basketball lands in ESPN’s way-too-early bracketology

Florida basketball fell well short of expectations in Todd Golden’s first season as head coach, finishing with a losing record after getting bumped by the Central Florida Knights in the National Invitation Tournament back in March.

However, it is not all doom and gloom in Gainesville. Despite losing a handful of players to the transfer portal and expiring eligibility — including All-SEC center Colin Castleton — the Orange and Blue have also added former Marshall Thundering Herd center Micah Handlogten out of the portal along with power forward Thomas Haugh and Australian center Alex Condon in the 2023 recruiting class.

While there is no shortage of time between now and when the 2023-24 season starts, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi took some time recently to formulate his way-too-early 2024 NCAA Tournament bracketology. Gators fans might be surprised to learn that Florida earned a No. 8 seed in the Midwest bracket based in Detroit, Michigan, facing the ninth-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the opening round.

The Southeastern Conference is represented by eight schools in the bracketology, tied for first with the Big 12 and Big Ten. The ACC, Big East and Pac-12 all have five teams among the field of 68, while the American, Southwest and WCC all have two.