The Florida Gators survived a scare in the round of 32, outlasting the back-to-back defending champion UConn Huskies 77-75. While there are fair gripes with the execution to close things out in the game, the saying goes “survive and advance,” which Florida accomplished.
With the second day of the round of 32 matchups winding down, the field will narrow to 16 teams moving forward. Florida entered the tournament as a No. 1 seed and has rightfully been regarded with respect, but the odds will only get steeper and the time to jump on the Gators to win the West portion of the bracket is now.
Here is a futures bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Florida to win the West region of the bracket and secure a Final Four opportunity.
To follow all of my college basketball picks, along with our other DK Network analysts, join the DKN Betting Group on DraftKings Sportsbook (it’s free!).
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer.
Florida to Win the Men’s West Region (-160)
The -160 odds do not make this the longshot future that will keep you up at night with excitement but one worth holding in your back pocket. Florida trails only Duke for the best odds of winning the entire tournament at +300 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Gators entered the tournament viewed as a legitimate threat to cut down the nets and escaped becoming a headline upset in the opening two rounds. They rank third in the country in scoring at 85.7 points per game and also rank 89th in points allowed, holding opponents to 69.2 points per game. They survived a brutal battle in the SEC this season, going 31-4 overall on the season and 14-4 in conference play.
Walter Clayton Jr. headlines the production with 17.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is the type of guard who can take over this time of year as evidenced by his dagger three-pointer over UConn as a part of his 23-point performance. Alex Condon has emerged as the season progressed, providing a nice balance on the interior with his 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Alijah Martin and Will Richard each also average over 13 points per game.
While the talent level of Florida has been evident all season, its path to a National Championship has not been until this point. It cruised past Norfolk State 95-69 in the opening round but was pushed to the brink by Connecticut. The Gators will now await the winner of Colorado State and Maryland, whom they will be favorites over either. Assuming it wins this game, Florida would face the winner of Texas Tech vs. Arkansas for the Final Four opportunity.
If Maryland escapes Colorado State, which it enters as 8.5-point favorites and -380 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook, this is a matchup I like for Florida. Maryland’s starting five can go toe-to-toe with any team in the country, but its bench brings nearly zero production to the table. Foul trouble could completely alter its game plan and Florida has the depth that will cause issues. Texas Tech is a team that will be ready for battle and a tough matchup, but it must first survive Arkansas and this is also a game Florida will likely be favored. When looking around at the other brackets for the path to the Final Four, Florida could be in a much worse spot with there being a pretty convincing case this is the clearest path.
Getting -160 odds for Florida to win two games that it should be favorites in is enough value to motivate me. The Gators survived their scare against UConn and will now have a few days off to collect themselves. They have looked like a Final Four quality team for quite some time now and the odds are only set to get steeper from here.
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
