Florida
Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida Earn NCAA Tournament No. 1 Seeds
Auburn player of the year candidate Johni Broome and the Tigers are the No. 1 overall seed in the … [+]
Duke and Auburn topped the national rankings the last two weeks, and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection committee saw no reason to stray.
Auburn (28-5) was given the No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team field despite losing to Tennessee in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, based on its body of work. Auburn has 16 Quad 1 wins, three more than any other team in Division I, while playing the second most difficult schedule.
Duke (31-3), Houston (30-4) and Florida (30-4) are the other No. 1 seeds. All won their conference tournaments — Duke in the Atlantic Coast, Houston in the Big 12 and Florida in the SEC.
Duke enters the NCAA tournament with uncertainty around star freshman and likely NBA 2025 No. 1 draft choice Cooper Flagg, who suffered a left ankle injury in a quarterfinal victory over Georgia Tech and did not play against North Carolina or Louisville.
Cooper Flagg’s left ankle injury did not prevent Duke from winning the ACC tournament. (Photo by … [+]
“It’s full speed ahead,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Our goal is for Friday (return), and it is his goal as well.”
It did not seem to matter. Duke fellow freshman Kon Knueppel had 63 points in the three ACC tournament games.
Duke earned its 15th No. 1 seed, tying Kansas for second-most overall. North Carolina, the last at-large team in the field according to the selection committee, has been a top seed 18 times.
Auburn and Michigan State are the 1-2 seeds in the South Regional, Duke and Alabama are 1-2 in the East, Houston and Tennessee are 1-2 in the Midwest and Florida and St. John’s are 1-2 in the West.
The East and the Midwest regional winners meet in the national semifinals, as do the South and West winners. The Final Four is in San Antonio, Texas, on April 5 and 7.
The SEC Makes a Statement
Auburn and Florida headlined an SEC assault — a tournament-record 14 SEC teams made the field, shattering the previous record of 11 set by the Big East in 2011, the first year field was expanded to 68 teams.
Florida rolled through the stacked SEC tournament field to win the postseason tournament. (AP … [+]
The SEC received four of the top eight seeds, and it seems fair. The SEC is ranked No. 1 in both the NCAA RPI rankings and the analytic site Kenpom. Auburn was No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for seven weeks and Tennessee was No. 1 for five. Florida and Alabama reached as high as No. 2, each blocked by Auburn.
The other SEC seeds: Kentucky (3) Texas A&M (4), Ole Miss (6), Missouri (6), Mississippi State (8), Georgia (9), Oklahoma (9), Arkansas (10), Vanderbilt (10), Texas (11). Texas has a playin game against Xavier on Wednesday
Four SEC teams have eight or fewer losses despite playing in the toughest league in Division I.N o other conference can boast that season-long success. The conference has 16 members, and 14 of them had at least 19 wins.
The Big Ten, led by No. 2 seed Michigan State, has eight teams in the field. The Big 12 has seven and the Big East has five. While Duke is seeded on the top line, there are only four ACC teams in the field. The Mountain West also had four.
No. 1 Seed Tournament History
Seeded on the top line does not guarantee success, but it is a good place to start. No. 1 seeds have won six of the last seven tournaments and nine of the last 12.
UConn, the top seed in the tournament in 2024, beat Purdue for its second consecutive championship after winning it all as a No. 4 seed in 2023. The Huskies were the eighth team to win back-to-back titles, and they were the first overall No. 1 seed to win it since Rick Pitino took Louisville to the 2023 title, although that was later vacated because of NCAA violations.
Kansas, Baylor, Virginia, Villanova and North Carolina were No. 1 seeds when they won the championship from 2017-22. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of COVID.
No. 1 seeds have meet in the championship game three times since 2017. UConn and Purdue were No. 1 seeds a year ago. Baylor beat fellow No. 1 Gonzaga in 2021 and North Carolina beat the Zags in 2017.
What Does KenPom Say?
Analytics guru Ken Pomeroy, a former U.S. government meteorologist, revolutionized the use of statistics as a predictor of success in the NCAA tournament in the early 2000s, and his rankings are recognized as the industry standard.
Since 2001, 95.7 percent of the NCAA tournament champions have ranked in the top 22 in the KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency and 91.3 percent have ranked in the top 32 in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Nine teams are in both camps entering the tournament, including all four No. 1 seeds Duke, Auburn, Houston and Florida. The others are Alabama, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Duke has the best combined marks — third on offense and fourth on defense. Houston and Florida are the only other teams in the top 10 in both. Florida ranks first in offense and 10th on defense. Houston is 10th on defense and second on offense.
Who Was Squeezed Out
North Carolina (22-13) was an often-problematic 1-12 in Quad 1 games. A team is credited with Quad 1 win for a home victory against a team ranked 1-30, a neutral site win against a team ranked 1-50 and a road win against a team ranked 1-75.
West Virginia (19-13) was 6-10 in Quad 1 games, with wins over NCAA tournament teams Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State. Indiana (19-13) was 4-13 in Quad 1 wins, including wins over Michigan State and Purdue.
The Tar Heels’ lone Quad 1 win was against UCLA, but the committee cited its 8-0 record in Quad 2 games. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham was the chairman of the selection committee, but he recused himself when the Tar Heels were discussed.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida juvenile probation officer is facing more than 100 felony charges after investigators said she leaked confidential court and law enforcement information to people tied to a drug trafficking investigation.
Crystal Gaynell Ann Lawson was booked into the Orange County Jail on Thursday, according to Orange County Corrections records.
Investigators said Lawson improperly accessed the Comprehensive Case Information System, or CCIS, more than 100 times and shared information from active criminal cases with members of a drug trafficking organization.
FOX 35 Orlando reported Lawson was arrested on 113 felony counts of computer crimes for unauthorized access. Investigators said she allegedly accessed the database 106 times between January and May.
Lawson is accused of using the database to search for active criminal cases tied to members of the organization. Authorities said some of the information that was leaked included arrest warrants and documents connected to an active investigation.
Lawson was hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. As part of that job, she was given access to the CCIS database. Authorities said she was fired later that year after an arrest, but her database access was not terminated.
See also: ‘Elf,’ ‘Couples Retreat’ actor jailed with no bond after Florida arrest
Investigators said the leaks resulted in lost evidence, unrecovered assets and at least one person fleeing to avoid arrest before later being taken into custody.
Lawson previously worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where she had access to the court information system as part of her job. Authorities said she was later fired, but her database access was not terminated.
Orange County Corrections records list Lawson’s case status as “presentenced” and show multiple entries for “offense against computer users.”
The records list the arresting agency as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and show bond amounts of $10,000 on several listed case sequences. The jail record also notes an “ICJIS Affidavit.”
ORLANDO, Fla. – Strong thunderstorms continue to push across Central Florida Thursday evening, with a few storms capable of producing gusty winds, frequent lightning, torrential rainfall and isolated damage before activity gradually winds down later tonight.
The strongest storms are expected through about 10 p.m., with most of the activity weakening and moving offshore by around 11 p.m. Storms are being fueled by sea breeze collisions and abundant moisture across the state. In addition to strong wind gusts, torrential downpours could lead to ponding of water on roads and minor flooding in low-lying and poor-drainage areas.
While storms remain the immediate concern this evening, another round of impactful weather is expected Friday.
The News 6 Weather Team has designated Friday as a Weather Aware Day due to the combination of dangerous heat and the threat for strong to severe thunderstorms.
Before storms develop, temperatures will climb into the low to mid-90s Friday afternoon. Combined with high humidity, it will feel more like 102 to 107 degrees across much of Central Florida. Some locations could once again approach or exceed Heat Advisory criteria.
Scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop during the afternoon and evening hours. The atmosphere will be loaded with tropical moisture, allowing storms to produce frequent lightning, damaging wind gusts, and torrential rainfall.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed all of Central Florida under a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe weather Friday. While widespread severe weather is not expected, a few storms could become strong enough to produce damaging winds.
In addition, the Weather Prediction Center has highlighted portions of Central Florida for a Level 1 out of 4 risk of excessive rainfall. Any storm will be capable of producing very heavy rain in a short amount of time, which could lead to localized flooding.
The unsettled pattern continues into the weekend. Storm coverage is expected to increase Saturday, and some locations could see multiple rounds of heavy rain. While a few stronger storms remain possible, the flooding threat may become a greater concern by Saturday afternoon and evening.
Looking ahead to next week, rain chances are expected to gradually decrease, but the heat is not going anywhere. High temperatures will remain in the low to mid-90s, with heat index values frequently climbing above 100 degrees. Forecast guidance suggests a higher heat risk could develop once again across Central Florida as we head deeper into next week.
At the beaches, a moderate risk of rip currents continues. Make sure you swim near a lifeguard if you’re heading to the beach.
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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)— A Florida mental health counselor walked into a surprising number of bats inside her office last week.
“We had about 50 bats. In the toilet, in the sink. All over,” Shaltala Boss, a licensed mental health counselor, said.
Boss has since moved her office due to maternity season, when it is illegal to exclude or remove bats from April 16 to August 14, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“Any form of eviction during this time period will result in baby bats being trapped along with adult bats that may not have emerged. Trapped bats will attempt to escape and may end up in the living space of buildings,” FWC said.
Video provided by Boss showed a bat lying on the ground.
“You definitely didn’t want to come to counseling that day,” Boss said.
Boss has since moved to another location and said it is bat-free.
“Most bats will avoid humans at all costs and use natural roosting structures for shelter during the day. However, bats sometimes find their way into our homes and structures, which can present a health hazard,” FWC said.
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