NCAA Tournament: Virginia Tech will play the Florida Gators in the first round

The Virginia Tech Hokies officially have their destination. Well, the Hokies knew their destination was Indianapolis, just like everyone else, but now Virginia Tech knows who it will be playing in the first round.

The Hokies are a No. 10 seed in the South region and will meet the No. 7 Florida Gators of the SEC in the first round.

I like this matchup for the Hokies.

Florida is certainly a talented team but underachieved a bit during the season. The Gators were 14-9 and finished fifth in the SEC with a 9-7 record.

Florida’s most impressive win of the season was an 85-80 win over then-No. 11 West Virginia. The Gators also defeated Tennessee when it was ranked No. 6 but lost the next two meetings to the Volunteers. The Gators lost three of their last four games to end the season.

Florida is led by sophomore guard Tre Mann, who averages 16 points per game.

While some Virginia Tech fans will be disappointed at the seeding, this was expected. The Hokies barely played in February due to two COVID pauses, and that hurt them. I certainly felt like Virginia Tech would either be on the No. 7 or No. 8 line, but this could play into Tech’s favor.

If the Hokies can win the first-round game, they would meet the winner of the game between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 15 Oral Roberts. Tech avoids a potential matchup with No. 1 seed Baylor early by being in the bracket's bottom half.

Seven ACC teams made the bracket, not including Duke, which misses the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.

The Virginia Cavaliers receive a No. 4 seed and will play the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday.

The one seeding issue I can't entirely agree with is Clemson going in as a No. 7 seed, with the Hokies as a No. 10, and ACC Tournament champion Georgia Tech as a No. 9 seed.

We will have you covered all week leading up to Virginia Tech’s first-round game against the Florida Gators.

Here is an official look at the bracket.