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After two losses closed the Gators men’s basketball season, Florida lost out on the chance for a double-bye in the conference tournament. The Gators now await the result of Wednesday’s Vanderbilt-Texas A&M game to face the winner the following day.

In a season finale that essentially served as a battle for the fourth seed, Florida jumped out to an early lead against the Tennessee Volunteers on their home court before backsliding to a 65-54 loss after an uninspired and frustrating 21-point second half.

WHAT IS THERE TO PLAY FOR?

The Gators are a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens in Nashville this upcoming week. Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s braketology expert, gave Florida more than a 90% chance of being a part of March Madness and listed them as an eight seed Monday.

So, other than the obvious allure of an SEC tournament title, what does head coach Mike White and his team have at stake in the conference finale?

The most consequential and tangible possible improvement is tournament seeding. If the Lunardi prediction of an eight seed holds when March Madness rolls around, the Gators would have to face one of the four best teams in the country as early as the second round.

If the Gators can beat either Vanderbilt or Texas A&M, however, and if they can sneak their way to the conference semifinals or even find a way to bring home hardware, they could be on the move. Alabama and Arkansas, the top two seeds, are both top 10 in the country and projected to be a two and a three seed, respectively. A pair or even a trio of strong victories for Florida could bump the orange and blue up to a seven or a six seed, which could potentially be the difference between a second-round exit or a run to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond.

However, this is a double-edged sword. If Florida comes out flat and loses a third straight game, the Gators could see themselves slip to a nine seed, forced to be the low seed from the opening tip after cracking the top 25 just five short weeks ago.

Florida also needs a chance to right the ship a little bit in the conference tournament. It has won just three of seven games since its statement win at West Virginia Jan. 30. It seemed primed for a postseason success after a Feb. 27 victory at Kentucky, but a soul-crushing buzzer-beater against Missouri and the Tennessee loss means Florida’s opening round matchup will be to prevent entering the tournament on a three-game skid.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYONE

The 2020 season was halted last March, days before the SEC Tournament could get underway, and Florida boasts one of the youngest rosters in college basketball. This combination creates a bizarre dynamic – most of Florida’s roster hasn’t played an SEC Tournament.

Guard Tre Mann, forward Scottie Lewis and big man Omar Payne were all freshman a season ago, never allowed the chance to finish their debut seasons. Mann’s improvement was one of the stories of the year, as he paced the team with 15.0 points per game and 3.4 assists per game and ranked second in rebounds and three-point percentage and steals. Lewis, who was forced to the bench for two weeks in January for health & safety protocol, fortified the defense with a team-high 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks a contest.

Older starting staples like Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji transferred and weren’t eligible to play for Florida until this season. Star forward Colin Castleton wasn’t even in Gainesville a year ago after he spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Michigan. Castleton’s arrival and assertion was the other major headline for Florida basketball, as the transfer averaged 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game and was named SEC Player of the Week twice.

For all intents and purposes, the only Gator who reached the postseason with Mike White before is junior sharpshooter Noah Locke, who competed as a freshman in 2019 when Auburn bounced Florida in the conference quarterfinals. The roster has plenty of experience, but the postseason is uncharted territory for most of them, and how they respond will be crucial.

GAME ONE – WOULD YOU RATHER?

The Gators sit in a strange limbo between now and Wednesday’s Vanderbilt-Texas A&M play-in game, the winner of which will play Florida the following day. So who would Florida rather play?

Texas A&M is a strange case, mostly because there is so little information about the Aggies. They only played 10 conference games in 2021, with their entire February slate postponed due to COVID protocol and contact tracing. The Aggies only won two of those 10 games, but nearly took down No. 8 Arkansas on the road in their final game of the season, just their second game back from the break.

Texas A&M is ranked 129th in KenPom, 16 spots lower than any other SEC team and 34 spots lower than Vanderbilt (95th). It ranks almost 300th in effective field goal percentage allowed (296th at 53.2%), but it a top 50 team nationally at offensive rebounding, an area Florida saw itself outmatched in multiple times in the regular season.

Vanderbilt fared little better in conference play, winning just three of 16 games. However, the Commodores came within seven points of beating the Gators on their home court in January and pulled within just four points with under a minute. The Commodores are a shorter team than the Aggies, which plays to the advantage of the undersized Florida, and ranked outside the top 200 in the country in shooting percentage allowed from all three areas of the floor.

The biggest motivation for not wanting Vanderbilt is clear – no one wants to play Scotty Pippen Jr. The sophomore guard is one of the most lethal offensive threats in the conference, averaging 20.6 points and 4.9 assists per game, both the second-highest marks in the SEC. He had 50 points and 12 assists between his two games against the Gators, including a 32 points in that January comeback effort that fell just short.

Florida’s conference tournament bid will get underway Thursday at 2:30 pm.