We’ll be doing NCAA Tournament profiles for all automatic bid conference winners leading into the NCAA Tournament. We’ll start with the first team to gain a bid–Florida Gulf Coast.

Conference/Record: Atlantic Sun (24-10)

Location: Fort Myers, Florida

Famous Alums/Attendees: Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox played college baseball at FGCU.

Social Media: Seth Soffian (@NewsPressSeth) covers FGCU Basketball for the Fort Myers News-Press

Random Fun Fact: The (Thomas) Edison and (Henry) Ford Winter Estates Museum is located in Fort Myers, and includes hundreds of inventions and artifacts, in addition to an amazing Banyan Tree Garden.

Tournament History/Most Recent: This is the first ever NCAA appearance for Florida Gulf Coast.

Record vs. Projected At-Larges and Bubble Teams: 1-3

Good Wins/Bad Losses: Florida Gulf Coast stunned Miami back in November, before we knew just how good Miami was going to be. Also played VCU, Duke, and Iowa State. Five losses in conference include getting swept by Lipscomb and a loss to Stetson.

Notable Player(s): Conference Player of the Year Sherwood Brown leads the team in both scoring and rebounding from the guard position for the Eagles.

All-Important Rankings: 91 (RPI), 126 (Pomeroy), 106 (Seven Overtimes)

Outlook/Seed: Florida Gulf Coast should fall right on the 15 seed divide once all the bids are in, possibly getting to a 14 seed with enough upsets in other conference tourneys for one-bid leagues. Their chances in the tournament depend on the matchup, as the guard dominated team can run effective offense, but can be vulnerable to teams that can get on the offensive glass and wear down the interior depth.

[photo via US Presswire]