The 2013 NCAA Tournament brackets are being filled out by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, and we already know where you can pencil in the Florida Gators: The No. 3 seed in the South Regional.
Florida, the SEC's regular season champion, will play No. 14 Northwestern State, the winner of the Southland Conference tournament, in its first game in the round of 64 — which the NCAA refers to as the Second Round. That game will take place in Austin, Texas, on Friday, March 22.
Florida's bracket is a tough one, with No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed Georgetown looming on higher seed lines, but its past to the Sweet Sixteen is relatively easy: Northwestern State was not the best team in the Southland, and Florida, with a win, will meet a talented UCLA team that just lost Jordan Adams to a foot injury or a Minnesota team that can be allergic to shooting.
Florida will also be relatively close to home in Austin — the only subregionals closer were in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dayton, Ohio.
We'll have tons more analysis as the night wears on, but, initially: I'm very okay with this bracket for the Gators.