The Gators won't be sweating it out tonight.
On this Selection Monday, the UF women's basketball team will not be worried about bubble talk and being left out of March Madness like it was last season.
The No. 21 Gators (23-7, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) are a lock to make this year's NCAA Tournament.
So when the brackets are revealed tonight at 7 on ESPN, UF will be more concerned about who, when and where it will be playing in the first round later this week.
The Gators, once projected as high as a No. 3 seed by ESPN.com's Charlie Creme, have lost some ground over the last four weeks.
Creme has UF as a No. 7 seed in his latest version of Bracketology, his daily predictions of the field of 64.
The Gators likely fell a few spots when they dropped five of their last six games, including a quarterfinal loss to the Volunteers in the SEC Tournament on March 6.
Though UF appears to be slumping at the worst possible time, it showed glimpses of its early season brilliance in the second half against Tennessee.
After trailing by 17 at the break, UF rallied to within 3 points with less than three minutes remaining.
Despite winning the second half 46-33, the Gators eventually fell 71-67 to the Volunteers.
Butler, however, was proud of her team's second-half effort.
"If that Florida team shows up (in the NCAA Tournament), then we're not just in position to beat a great team like Tennessee, but we whipped them in the second half," Butler said.
"We whipped them in the second half like they whipped us in the first half."
Butler added that even though the Gators came up short in their conference tournament, she saw the trouble her team could cause in the NCAA Tournament if it plays an entire game the way it did in the second half against the Volunteers.
"As disappointing as this is to be leaving here with a loss right now, I also think that there's a lot to build on going into the postseason," Butler said after the loss.
If the Gators get the No. 7 seed as Creme projects, they will face a No. 10 seed in the first round and would have a potential second-round matchup with a No. 2 seed.
