Colorado (10) vs. Florida (7) Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
UF opened as a 1-point favourite to win on the college basketball odds.
Colorado vs. Florida NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of Friday’s game will face either No. 2 Marquette or No. 15 Western Kentucky on Sunday also in Indianapolis for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Colorado was one of the last teams in the NCAA Tournament – hence playing in the First Four. The Buffs were on the wrong side of the bubble in about mid-February but then went on an eight-game winning streak that wasn’t snapped until the Pac-12 Tournament final a loss to Oregon. It’s the 16th Big Dance appearance in CU history and the sixth in the 14-year Tad Boyle era in Boulder. Colorado looks to reach the Round of 32 for the first time since 2021, which had been its most recent NCAA appearance. To win the South, CU is +2000.
Florida makes its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance off its first SEC Tournament final appearance since 2014. UF holds an all-time 45-19 record in the Big Dance and has been a No. 7 seed three times previously, including a run to the 2012 Elite Eight from that position (also 1989 and 2021). It’s the second NCAA Tournament for second-year coach Todd Golden. He got San Francisco there in 2022, and the Dons were one-and-done. This year’s Gators team is the highest-scoring in program history, averaging 85.1 points per game. UF is +1600 to win the South.
UF has never faced Colorado. No. 7 seeds are 92-59 all-time vs. No. 10s. The only time all four No. 10 seeds won was in 1999. All four No. 7s have advanced twice (1993, 2007).
Colorado Buffaloes (10)
Since the men’s tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011 at least one First Four winner has advanced to the Round of 32 every year but once. On Wednesday, Colorado was a 3.5-point favourite in Dayton against fellow No. 10 Boise State and won 60-53. Tristan da Silva led CU with 20 points and KJ Simpson had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Buffs trailed by four with 4:31 remaining but then went on an 11-0 run. Colorado finished just 21-for-48 from the floor but 11-for-22 in the second half, including 3-for-7 from long range. It held Boise State to 2-for-18 from deep and Broncos leading scorer Tyson Degenhart to only six points thanks largely to da Silva’s defence. Colorado’s 25 wins are a school record. It didn’t play an SEC school this year but did lose to Florida State in OT on Nov. 21. FSU lost by 21 at Florida four days earlier.
Florida Gators (7)
Florida missed the NCAA Tournament last year with a 16-17 overall record under first-year coach Todd Golden, who might have been on a bit of a hot seat entering this season but is off it after UF finished sixth in the SEC regular-season standings and reached the conference tournament title game, losing to Auburn. Golden recently got a two-year extension through the 2029-30 season as he did extremely well in the transfer portal to build this season’s roster. There was one major piece of unfortunate news in that Auburn loss as starting 7-foot centre Micah Handlogten, a transfer from Marshall, broke his leg and obviously is done for the season. He only averaged 5.3 points but shot 62.2 per cent from the field and also grabbed 6.9 rebounds per game while ranking among national leaders in offensive rebounding. That’s a huge loss, but maybe the team can rally around it.
COLO
FLA