2025 NCAA Tournament bracket: (1) Florida Gators face (8) UConn in Round 2 of March Madness

Basketball

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Image Credit: Maddie Washburn, UAA

The Florida Gators entered the 2025 NCAA Tournament back on top of the college basketball world. For the first time since 2014 and third time in program history, Florida earned a No. 1 seed in March Madness as the top team in the West Region, and it took advantage of that positioning with a decisive win over the No. 16-seed Norfolk State Spartans on Friday to kick off their tournament.

The Gators improved to 11-1 as a No. 1 seed sitting with baited breath to see who they would face in second-round competition on Sunday. Their emerging challenger became the No. 8 seed UConn Huskies, which won 67-59 over the No. 9 seed Oklahoma Sooners in the Raleigh, North Carolina, nightcap.

The game will tip off at 12:10 p.m. ET and air live on CBS with the Final Four team of play-by-play man Ian Eagle, color commentators Bill Raftery and Grant Hill, plus sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on the call.

The Florida-UConn matchup marks the first time in modern history that the last two teams to win back-to-back national championships will meet in NCAA Tournament play. The Gators won consecutive crowns in 2006-07, while the Huskies are the two-time reigning champions having captured titles in 2023-24.

Florida and UConn previously battled in the Final Four of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, a 10-point win for the Huskies that serves as the Gators’ only loss as a No. 1 seed. UF would certainly love a measure of revenge, though all the names and faces have changed significantly over the last 11 years.

Meeting for the first time in the 1994 NCAA Tournament, Florida beat UConn 69-60 in overtime. The Huskies have won the last move meetings — all since the 2014 season — most recently routing the Gators 75-54 during a 2023 season showdown in Gainesville, Florida.

Florida is 46-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with Round of 32 appearances in nine of its last 10 appearances. The Gators last advanced to the Final Four in 2014; in fact, as a No. 1 seed, they are 2-0 qualifying for the national semifinals with a national championship victory in 2007. Florida is seeking its sixth Final Four appearance (1994, 2000, 2006-07, 2014) and third national championship (2006-07) in program history.

Todd Golden last season became just the second Gators head coach to earn an NCAA Tournament berth inside his first two seasons leading the team. Golden now joins Billy Donovan as one of two coaches to lead Florida to a No. 1 seed in March Madness. He picked up his first career NCAA Tournament win on Friday.