Florida takes top overall seed in ESPN's first bracketology for 2027

Less than a month since the dust settled following the 2026 NCAA Tournament and ESPN's Joe Lunardi is already offering his opening takes on the next edition of March Madness in his initial 2027 bracketology.

The Gator Nation will be pleased with his first projections for the Big Dance, which have Florida not just as the South Region's top seed, but also the No. 1 overall seed in his bracketology. With a roster that is bringing back a lion's share of the players featured on the 2026 team — which also includes a few holdovers from the 2025 national championship squad — it is hard not to favor the Orange and Blue early on.

Todd Golden already has eight players committed to returning for the upcoming campaign, most notably forwards Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon, who backed out of the NBA draft and recently announced their return to Gainesville. Meanwhile, college basketball's Defensive Player of the Year, center Rueben Chinyelu, is testing the draft waters but has said he will come back to his team if he withdraws.

Florida's roster will also be bolstered by bringing guards Boogie Fland, Urban Klavzar, Isaiah Brown, AJ Brown, Alex Lloyd and Alex Kovatchev back into the fold; guard Denzel Aberdeen was re-acquired through the transfer portal but is still awaiting approval of his fifth-year waiver from the NCAA.

The only significant losses were those of starting guard Xaivian Lee, who ran out of eligibility, and backup center Micah Handlogten, whose eligibility also expired but still entered the transfer portal while requesting a waiver for his relinquished medical redshirt in 2025. The Gators' 7-foot-9-inch center, rising redshirt sophomore Olivier Rioux, also entered the transfer portal but was not expected to play a large role in the team moving forward.

Top seeds in ESPN's 2027 bracketology

While Florida holds both the top overall seed as well as the No. 1 spot in the East, the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, the Michigan State Spartans hold the top spot in the West, and the Duke Blue Devils sit atop the South with the No. 1 seed.

SEC schools in ESPN's 2027 bracketology

The Southeastern Conference leads the way in the initial bracketology with 12 member schools mentioned among the field of 68 teams, followed by the Big Ten with 11, the Big 12 with seven and the Atlantic Coast Conference with six. Outside of the Power Four, the Big East boasts four teams in the tournament projections, while the West Coast, Atlantic 10 and Atlantic Sun conferences all have a pair, rounding out those with more than one school included.

Florida headlines the SEC with the top seed in the East, while the Arkansas Razorbacks and Alabama Crimson Tide check in with the No. 3 seeds in the Midwest and South, respectively. The Texas Longhorns (West) and Tennessee Volunteers (South) are No. 4 seeds; the Vanderbilt Commodores (West) and Kentucky Wildcats (East) are No. 7 seeds; the Missouri Tigers (Midwest), Texas A&M Aggies (West) and Auburn Tigers (South) are No. 8 seeds; the Georgia Bulldogs (South) and LSU Tigers (Midwest) are No. 10 seeds.

LSU is among the last four byes, while the Oklahoma Sooners are one of the first four out. That leaves the South Carolina Gamecocks, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels entirely out of the first bracketology for the 2027 NCAA Tournament.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball's status in ESPN's first bracketology for 2027