GAINESVILLE, Fla.— Florida will open NCAA Tournament play Friday in Raleigh, N.C., against Norfolk State as the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

The Gators’ emphatic win Sunday against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament championship game ended the debate on whether the Gators would earn a No. 1 seed.

The only question after Sunday’s 86-77 win against the Vols concerned UF’s potential path to the Final Four in San Antonio.

The NCAA Selection Committee tabbed Todd Golden’s team the fourth No. 1 seed. UF sits behind Auburn, which anchors the South Region, Duke (East) and Houston (Midwest), setting up Golden for a return to San Francisco if the Gators win two games this week.

The 39-year-old played at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, 22 miles east of the city, and later coached five seasons at the University of San Francisco, including the final three (2019-22) as head coach before coming to UF.

“That’s a long ways away,” Golden said ahead of the SEC Tournament. “We have to take care of a lot of business before that, but it would be really cool. Be fun.”

Norfolk State (24-10) earned a tournament bid with a 58-55 win against Morgan State in the MEAC Tournament final.

As a No. 15 seed in their first trip to the Big Dance, the Spartans beat second-seeded Missouri in 2012. Norfolk State also reached the NCAAs in 2021 and 2022.

With a win the Gators would face the winner between No. 8 seed UConn, the two-time defending national champion, and No. 9 seed Oklahoma (20-13) — 85-63 losers Feb. 18 in Gainesville. UConn (23-10) defeated UF 75-54 in December 2022 during Golden’s first season and en route to the Huskies’ national title, one of six by the school since 1999.

The Gators (30-4) made a strong case to play closer to home — Atlanta (South), Newark, N.J. (East) and Indianapolis (Midwest) are the other regional sites.

UF won 30 games for the first time since 2014, posting an 11-4 in Quad 1 games and 9-0 against Quad 2 foes. The Gators’ impressive run included two wins against the top-ranked team — a 73-43 decision Jan. 7 against Tennessee in Gainesville and a 90-81 win Feb. 8 at Auburn.

All four members of Sunday night’s ESPN Selection Show panel — Jay Bilas, Rece Davis, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg — picked the Gators to win the national title.

Florida is the sixth highest-rated team in the history of analytics guru Ken Pomeroy’s Web site begun in 1997, ahead of Houston and Auburn.

Auburn was 16-5 in Quad 1 games, Houston 14-3 and Duke 9-3. Perhaps no team, though, is hotter than Florida.

No league has ever had as many teams reach in tournament. The SEC’s 14 bids to the Big Dance break the Big East’s record 11 in 2011.

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