ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg high on Florida basketball, SEC heading into NCAA Tournament

• Greenberg praised Florida’s roster construction, depth, and improved defense under third-year coach Todd Golden.
• Greenberg noted that Florida needs to maintain defensive consistency to succeed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Greenberg believes the SEC is strong enough to potentially send three teams to the Final Four.

Florida basketball hasn’t reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament since 2017, but longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg said the pieces are in place for UF to make the deep run.

Greenberg discussed the Florida Gators on Friday from the O’Connell Center, where ESPN College GameDay will air its show on Saturday morning from 10 a.m to noon on ESPN before No. 3 UF (24-4, 11-4 SEC) hosts No. 11 Texas A&M (20-8, 9-6 SEC) on Saturday night (8:30 p.m., SEC Network).

A former college basketball coach at Long Beach State, USF and Virginia Tech, Greenberg will serve as an analyst on the show which will include host Rece Davis, analyst Jay Williams and ESPN.com reporter Pete Thamel. Davis threw out the first pitch of Florida baseball’s game against Miami on Friday night.

Greenberg praised the roster construction and depth of UF developed under third-year coach Todd Golden and his staff.

“Getting guys in the portal that had more than one year so they combined the culture of what’s supposed to be a seven-month rental, I think is a really big thing,” Greenberg said. “You’ve got an elite backcourt with depth and shot making and skill that are two-way players and then you’ve got versatility in the frontcourt …

“The pace they play with, the freedom they play with, the confidence they play with is really impressive.”

Greenberg also noted Florida’s improvement defensively, but felt UF took a step back in its 88-83 loss at rival Georgia on Tuesday night. UF has given up an average of 85.3 points in its four losses.

“They’ve got to understand that that’s got to be the constant,” Greenberg said. “I mean because you can’t spot people and play from behind in the NCAA Tournament. The pressure changes. These are just games. But in the NCAA Tournament if you don’t get stops early and people gain confidence and you are a number one seed or a number two seed, you have a whole arena going against you and it just sucks the wind out of you.”

How Florida basketball and the rest of the SEC could perform in March Madness

Florida, currently projected as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, is one of 13 or 14 SEC teams who could end up in the NCAA Tournament Selection when the field is announced on Selection Sunday on March 16. The SEC is as strong as it’s ever been in basketball, and Greenberg said there’s the potential for three SEC teams to reach the Final Four. The last time three teams from the same conference reached the Final Four was 1985, when Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s all made it from the Big East.

“Without a doubt it could happen,” Greenberg said. “Look at Missouri, they could make a run because of their style of play, I mean, they’re hard to play against … the good thing about this league is there’s more styles of play, which gets you ready and then coaches have challenged themselves in their non-conference (schedules).”

Doors will open to UF students at 8:30 a.m. at Gate 3 of the O’Connell Center and doors will open to the general public at 8:45 a.m. at Gate 1. Students began camping out Friday afternoon for CollegeGameDay’s first trip to Gainesville since 2017, a year that ended with UF reaching the Elite Eight.

“It’s an honor, you know,” Golden said. “They could go anywhere. They could go to Kentucky, right? Auburn and Kentucky play tomorrow, but they’re coming down to the G. So, we’re incredibly excited about it. I think a couple of our seniors are going to be on tomorrow, which is an experience that they deserve.”

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1

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