NOTE: OGGOA is currently in the process of relocating (AKA I am moving) and is without Internet access until Monday morning. Therefore, we will be coming at you with a ton of news and notes first thing that morning. However, we will still be keeping tabs on Florida Gators basketball throughout the weekend and will still offer a live update right after Selection Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Florida’s win Thursday against the Auburn Tigers appeared impressive enough to earn them a berth in March Madness, but their loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals coupled with a bunch of upsets and other victories has forced them to the back of the bubble.

Below is OGGOA‘s latest bubble watch update:

» Mississippi State (22-10) defeated Florida 75-69
» Dayton (20-12) lost to Xavier 78-73
» Rhode Island (23-8) defeated Saint Louis 63-47
» Georgia Tech (21-11) defeated No. 19 Maryland 69-64 (considered a lock)
» Illinois (19-13) defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 58-54
» Ole Miss (21-10) lost to No. 13 Tennessee 76-65
» San Diego State (24-8) defeated No. 8 New Mexico 72-69 (considered a lock)
» Minnesota (19-12) defeated No. 11 Michigan State 72-67
» Washington (22-9) defeated Stanford 79-64

Additionally, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has dropped Florida out of his final teams to earn a berth. Instead, he has them as his second team out after Illinois after Mississippi State, Minnesota and Washington pulled off impressive victories Saturday coupled with some big upsets from other teams.

Florida [21-12 (9-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 31] The Gators seemed to be in decent shape after defeating Auburn in Thursday night’s first round of the SEC tournament, but then they lost to Mississippi State on Friday and a bunch of other bubble teams won. It will be a close call for Florida, which is trying to end a two-year NCAA drought after winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. UF went 9-7 in SEC play during the regular season. The Gators are 3-8 against RPI top-50 foes, but those three are very good: beating Tennessee (home), Michigan State (neutral) and Florida State (home). Eight of their 12 losses came against teams that are ranked No. 24 or better in the RPI ratings. The Gators will have to overcome one ugly eyesore — a 67-66 loss at home to No. 212 South Alabama on Dec. 22.

Selection Sunday will air March 14 beginning at 6 p.m. on CBS. The NCAA Selection Committee will choose five at-large teams to join the 39 locks and 21 automatic qualifiers already in the tournament. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, selection committee, Selection Sunday

1 » The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley explained the Florida Gators‘ status as a 2010 NCAA Tournament team as succinctly as possible: “They’re in. I think.” The Gators appear to have clinched an at-large berth in March Madness for the first time in three seasons with their victory Thursday in the first round of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament against the Auburn Tigers. Then again, anything can happen with the Selection Committee. Florida has a chance to remove any doubts tonight against a team they already beat this season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

2 » Though the SEC is delaying the announcement of its entire football schedule due to some conflicts, it was announced Friday that the Gators’ away contest against the defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide on Oct. 2, 2010, will be CBS’ lone prime time game of the season. Each year, CBS picks one conference game to air at 8 p.m., and for 2010 it has decided to choose a rematch of the last two SEC Championship games – a rubber match if you will – between the Gators and Crimson Tide. Then again, the game could very well be less of a rubber match and more of a precursor to the 2010 SEC Championship in Atlanta, GA. Mark your calendars.

3 » While the win Thursday did wonders for Florida, it has likely done just the opposite for Auburn. Tigers head coach Jeff Lebo, who was on the hot seat before the tournament, is likely to get the boot if you believe many of Auburn’s fans and boosters. Gators head coach Billy Donovan has gone out of his way to praise Lebo at every opportunity he has gotten, but the respect of his peers will probably not be enough to save the embattled coach. UPDATE: Just moments after OGGOA posted this, The Birmingham News reported that Lebo will be fired.

4 » Bubble Watch: Illinois (18-13) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (2:25 p.m.), Rhode Island (22-8) vs. Saint Louis (2:30 p.m.), Mississippi (21-9) vs. No. 13 Tennessee (3:15 p.m.), Dayton (20-11) vs. Xavier [in] (6:30 p.m.), Georgia Tech (20-11) vs. No. 19 Maryland (7 p.m.), Minnesota (19-12) vs. No. 11 Michigan State (8:55 p.m.), San Diego State (23-8) vs. No. 8 New Mexico (9:00 p.m.), Washington (22-9) vs. Stanford (11:30 p.m.)

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Billy Donovan, Jeff Lebo, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, selection committee

The Florida Gators needed to win one of their final three games to all but ensure themselves a spot in the 2010 NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons. Instead, a tough road losses to unranked Georgia and No. 3/3 Kentucky as well as a home defeat by No. 13/19 Vanderbilt have left the Gators losers of their last three and back on the proverbial bubble.

Let’s take a look at the resume the NCAA Selection Committee will be reviewing:
Continue Reading » Florida Gators’ 2010 NCAA Tournament resume

Tags: NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, selection committee

A 27-6 run including three consecutive treys by slumping sophomore point guard Erving Walker led the Florida Gators (20-8, 9-4 SEC) to a 75-62 rout of the No. 19/17 Tennessee Volunteers (20-7, 8-5 SEC) Tuesday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL. The Gators, who earned their 12th-straight 20-win season with the victory, snapped a six-game losing streak against the Volunteers by taking their first win in the series since Feb. 3, 2007.

Walker, who was mired in a 5-for-26 (1-for-11 from downtown) slump over the last three games, shot 50 percent on the evening and scored a trifecta of three-pointers in under two minutes in the second half. He and junior forward Chandler Parsons each finished with a team-high 19 points, though Parsons added eight rebounds. Redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin achieved a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 boards, while freshman guard Kenny Boynton added 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

“We just moved another step closer to where we want to get to,” Walker said. “Definitely a big resume win. They were a ranked team, good RPI, a good team, big conference win, take sole possession of third. We can’t ask for a bigger win right now than this one.”

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Gators vs. Volunteers game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gators rout No. 19/17 Volunteers 75-62 in O’Dome

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Bobby Maze, Cameron Tatum, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Jeff Hathaway, Kenny Boynton, Mike Slive, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, Scotty Hopson, SEC, selection committee, University of Connecticut, Vernon Macklin, Wayne Chism