Florida is the No. 1 team in the West Region in its bid to erase last year's early NCAA Tournament exit.
The Gators (30-4) will open against No. 16 Norfolk State in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a potential matchup against two-time reigning national champion UConn in the second round. The eighth-seeded Huskies open against No. 9 seed Oklahoma in a West Region that concludes in San Francisco.
Florida lost to Colorado in the first round last season, coach Todd Golden’s second in Gainesville. The fourth-ranked Gators have been one of the nation's most well-rounded teams this year, ranking No. 1 in the KenPom offensive efficiency ratings and 10 on defense.
Florida took down No. 21 Missouri, No. 5 Alabama and No. 8 Tennessee in consecutive days to win the SEC tournament for the first time since 2014.
“When we are playing like this, I think we are the best team in America,” Golden said after the Gators beat the Vols 86-77 in Sunday's SEC title game.
The West Region also includes second-seeded St. John's, fresh off its first Big East tournament title since 2000, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Maryland and No. 7 Kansas.
Pitino’s impact
St. John’s had been mired in mediocrity, earning trips to the NCAA Tournament every four or five years before exiting early.
Rick Pitino, the master of rebuilds, turned the Johnnies around in typical fashion.
Fresh off an NCAA Tournament bid at Iona, Pitino led St. John’s to 20 wins last season and upped the ante with a 30-win season this year that earned the Red Storm (30-4) the No. 2 seed in the West Region.
“Coach P is the mastermind behind all of this,” St. John’s swingman RJ Lewis Jr. said after the Red Storm’s 82-66 win over Creighton in the Big East title game. “I mean, it’s truly special.”
And not surprising.
Pitino has worked magic at every stop of a career that started in Hawaii in 1975. He's the first coach to lead six different teams to the NCAA Tournament, taking the Johnnies dancing after doing the same at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.
St. John's opens the West Region against No. 15 seed Omaha in Providence, Rhode Island, with a potential matchup against No. 7 Kansas and coach Bill Self or John Calipari's No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks.
UConn's bid
UConn became the first team since Florida in 2006-07 to win consecutive national championships.
The Huskies' have had a a bumpy ride in their bid for a threepeat.
Ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25, UConn got the season off to a shaky start with three straight losses at the Maui Invitational. The Huskies struggled with injuries all season and dropped out of the poll for the first time in two years on Feb. 10.
But don't count Dan Hurley and the Huskies out. UConn (23-10) is finally healthy and playing some of its best basketball of the season, reaching the Big East tournament semifinals before losing to Creighton 71-62.
“The last two years we were just trying to keep our team sharp and confident," Hurley said. “We were excellent at both ends of the court. We were deep, and we knew who was playing when. Now, we are still searching a little bit. We are still trying to find a better version of ourselves. We are trying to play a complete game."
Contrasting styles
The matchup between No. 6 seed Missouri and No. 11 Drake in Wichita, Kansas, will be a contrast in styles.
The 21st-ranked Tigers (22-11) like to play fast and are one of the nation's highest-scoring teams at 84.5 points per game. They'll be tested by one of the nation's best defensive teams.
The Bulldogs (27-3) lead the nation in points allowed per game at 58.4 and joined Southern Illinois (1993-94-95) as the only teams to win three straight Missouri Valley Conference tournament titles after stifling Bradley 63-48 in the championship game.
Rest of the region
The West Region's opening-round games in Seattle will feature No. 5 Memphis against No. 12 Colorado State and No. 4 Maryland against No. 13 Grand Canyon, making its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Bryce Drew.
Joining Missouri and Drake in Wichita will be No. 3 seed Texas Tech against No. 14 UNC-Wilmington, which won its record seventh Coastal Athletic Association tournament title since 1982-83.
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