Four teams from Florida are in the NCAA men's basketball tournament field that was announced Sunday evening, and two of them do battle with each other Thursday.
About 200 people were at The Abbey in downtown Orlando to see which 68 teams would be selected to play in the tournament.
Sarah Grafton and her 6-year-old son Bobby were there, as they love watching basketball.
“I was raised down in Florida so we’re big Florida fans but my brother went to FSU so we also have some FSU fans but we’re excited that they both made it in,” Grafton said.
University of Florida, Florida State, University of Miami and Florida Gulf Coast University made the field.
Despite coming from a home that is rooting for two different teams, Grafton is happy to hear both Florida and Florida State will be part of March Madness.
Three of those Florida teams will be playing at the Amway Center; five out-of-state teams will as well: East Tennessee State, Virginia, UNC Wilmington, Maryland and Xavier.
Commissioner Bryan Nelson says the tournament will boost the economy.
“We had them here three years ago and it was a $10 million economic impact along with 14,000 rooms that we generated by having the tournament here,” Nelson said. “It’s not just great for sports but it’s a great economic engine for us here in Central Florida.”
The No. 1 seeds announced Sunday were Villanova (overall No. 1), Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
No. 3 seed Florida State meets No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast in Orlando on Thursday. Also in Orlando, No. 4 seeded Florida will play No. 13 seed East Tennessee State.
No. 8 seeded Miami faces a matchup with No. 9 Michigan State on Friday in Tulsa.
To see the complete tournament field, here is a link to the NCAA's website and bracket.