Florida gets No. 3 seed in 2013 NCAA Tournament

No. 12/14 Florida Gators basketball (26-7) has earned a berth to the 2013 NCAA Tournament after completing a hard-fought regular season that included winning the outright 2013 SEC Championship for the regular season, posting an undefeated 15-0 record at home and going 4-1 against the RPI top 50.

As announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Florida was awarded a No. 3 seed and will face the No. 14-seed Northwestern State Demons (23-8) of the Southland Conference in Austin, TX on Friday, March 22.

The game will tip-off at 7:27 p.m. (ET) and air live on truTV [channel finder] with Tim Brando, Mike Gminski and Otis Livingston on the call.

The Gators’ third-ranked scoring defense nationally, which allows just 53.2 points per game on average, will go up against a Demons squad that boasts the country’s top scoring offense at 82.4 points per game.

Northwestern State faced (and lost to) three Southeastern Conference teams in the first two months of the season, falling at LSU on Nov. 20 (102-95), at Texas A&M on Nov. 26 (78-65) and at Arkansas on Dec. 29 (79-61).

Florida, placed in the South Region (North Texas), could advance to face No. 6 UCLA (25-9) or No. 11 Minnesota (20-12) in the third round on Sunday. UF could also potentially face No. 2 Georgetown (25-6) in the Sweet 16, a showdown that would be a rematch of the season opener between the two teams aboard the USS Bataan in the Navy-Marine Corps Classic that was never completed.

The final editions of the 2012-13 USA Today and Associated Press Top 25 Polls were released on Monday with Gonzaga remaining the No. 1 team in the nation after receiving 75-of-96 combined first-place votes.

Florida, which won two games before falling in the final of the SEC Tournament, fell one spots each to No. 12 in the USA Today poll and No. 14 in the AP rankings. Florida lost 52 voting points in the USA Today poll and was deducted 70 points in the AP top 25.

The Gators are the only Southeastern Conference team listed in the top 25 rankings.

Check out the full top 25 polls and where Florida ranked…after the break!

USA TODAY COACHES POLL
This Week 1-5: Gonzaga (30), Louisville (1), Kansas, Indiana/Miami
6-10: Ohio State, Duke, Georgetown, Michigan State, New Mexico
11-15: Michigan, Florida, Saint Louis, Kansas State, Memphis
16-20: Marquette, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Arizona
21-25: Creighton, Pittsburgh, VCU, Oregon, St. Mary’s

Last Week 1-5: Gonzaga (29), Duke (2), Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown
6-10: Kansas, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Miami
11-15: Florida, Kansas State, Marquette, New Mexico, Oklahoma State
16-20: Saint Louis, Memphis, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
21-25: St. Mary’s, VCU, Wisconsin, Creighton, UCLA

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
This Week 1-5: Gonzaga (45), Louisville (20), Kansas, Indiana, Miami
6-10: Duke, Ohio State, Georgetown, Michigan State, Michigan/New Mexico
12-15: Kansas State, Saint Louis, Florida, Marquette
16-20: Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Memphis, Pittsburgh
21-25: Arizona, Creighton, Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon

Last Week 1-5: Gonzaga (54), Duke (11), Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown
6-10: Michigan, Kansas, Michigan State, Miami, Ohio State
11-15: Kansas State, Marquette, Florida, Oklahoma State, New Mexico
16-20: Saint Louis, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Syracuse, Memphis
21-25: UCLA, Wisconsin, Creighton, Notre Dame, VCU

*Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.