Ticket Punched!: Florida Takes Down Tennessee, Heading To NCAA Tournament

It is over! The two straight years of NIT bids? Done. Florida is going dancing. I know, I know, there are still three games left. And then there is a little matter of the SEC Tournament. No matter. The Gators are in. Like Mick Hubert no doubtedly said many times after Erving Walker launched a three-point shot, "Book it!"

Florida has 20 wins (so far) in which it beat Michigan State, Florida State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. That should be plenty. That IS plenty.

If the SEC gets four teams in—and they should get at least that many—then UF cannot be ignored. The Gators have beaten every team in the SEC except for Vanderbilt and Kentucky. They still have a shot at both before the Tournament.

If MSU runs the table and wins the West, they will finish 22-8, 11-5. That would warrant a bid. But not at UF's expense. UF went 6-0 vs. the West. Right now, the East is 24-6 against the West. Georgia has four of those losses. South Carolina has the other two. They are the bottom two teams in the East.

In the SEC, teams play other division foes twice while playing the other division's teams only once. So while UF is playing Kentucky, Vandy, and Tennessee twice, MSU is playing Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, and winless LSU twice.

MSU also has no Michigan State on their list of wins. No Florida State either. Although, to win out they would have to beat Tennessee, a win that should get them an invite provided they win the West. But it should be as the SEC's fifth team.

Then, of course, there is the head-to-head matchup between the two, which was won by Florida.

So celebrate Gator Nation. Go back into the closet and get those dancing shoes!