A month and a half remains until the 2026-27 college basketball schedule opens up as the Florida Gators look to return to the NCAA Tournament and take home their second national title in three years.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi recently released his latest bracketology for the 2027 edition of March Madness, and the projections bode well for the Orange and Blue. While Todd Golden's team lost its top overall seed prediction — which they held for most of the summer — in the last update, they still are the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
Florida tips off the upcoming season on Monday, Nov. 2, against the Miami Hurricanes in the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Top seeds in ESPN's 2027 bracketology
No changes occurred among the top seeds in this bracketology
update: Duke remains the top overall seed and No. 1 in the East, Florida clings to its top spot in the South, Illinois held onto its claim over the Midwest, and Arizona still rules the West.
SEC schools in ESPN's 2027 bracketology
The Southeastern Conference gained a school in this bracketology update and now leads the way with 13 representatives — one more than the Big Ten, three more than the Big 12 and six more than the Atlantic Coast Conference. After them, the Big East has six schools in the mix, and the Atlantic 10 has two, rounding out the conferences with more than one school included.
Florida still headlines the SEC with the top seed in the South, while the Texas Longhorns fell to the No. 3 seed in the West. Following them are Alabama and Arkansas, who remain the No. 4 seeds in the West and Midwest, respectively; Tennessee slipped to the No. 5 seed in the West, joining the No. 5 seed in the East, Kentucky.
Next up are Vanderbilt (No. 6, South), Missouri (No. 8, Midwest), Georgia (No. 9, East), Auburn (No. 9, South), Texas A&M (No. 10, West), Oklahoma (No. 10, West) and LSU (No. 11, West). Auburn is atop the last four byes category, joining Texas A&M, while LSU is the very last team in the tournament; Mississippi State is the first among the next four out.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida holds steady in ESPN's latest bracketology update
