Florida vs. East Tennessee State: 2017 March Madness Preview

Canyon Barry the Florida Gators drives against Anthony Lawrence Jr. of the Miami Hurricanes during a game November 27, 2016. (Getty)

There was concern that the Florida Gators’ third loss of the season to Vanderbilt would alter their seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The Gators suffered an upset loss to the Commodores in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, their second loss to them in under a week. But Florida is dancing once again with a No. 4 seed.

It’s the school’s 20th time in the tournament after winning the championship in consecutive seasons (2006, 2007), but the Gators haven’t been to the tournament since 2014 when they advanced to the Final Four. Florida will take on the No. 13-seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the Round of 64 on Thursday, March 16.

It’s the 10th time the Bucs have made the NCAA Tournament, with the last time being in 2010 as a No. 16 seed.

Here’s a look at the Gators and Bucs’ opening matchup and the details of the game:

REGION: East

DATE: Thursday, March 16

LOCATION: Orlando, Florida

TIME: Following Virginia vs. UNC-Wilmington (12:40 p.m. EST)

TV CHANNEL: TruTV

LIVE STREAM INFO: CBS offers live streams of every game on March Madness Live. For games on TNT, TBS or TruTV a cable login will be required.

Florida at a Glance

RECORD: 24-8 (14-4 SEC)

LOCATION: Gainesville, Florida

CONFERENCE: SEC

COACH: Mike White

PLAYERS TO WATCH: KeVaughn Allen (13.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, .459 FG%), Canyon Barry (12.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, .878 FT%), Devin Robinson (10.9 PPG, 6.1 PPG, .468 FG%), Kasey Hill (9.8 PPG, 4.6 APG)

East Tennessee State at a Glance

RECORD: 27-7 (14-4 Southern Conference)

LOCATION: Johnson City, Tennessee

CONFERENCE: Southern Conference

COACH: Steve Forbes

PLAYERS TO WATCH: TJ Cromer (19.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.2 APG), Desonta Bradford (10.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.1 SPG), Tevin Glass (8.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG)

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