No. 7 FLORIDA vs. No. 10 COLORADO FLORIDA GATORS: The Gators are on the upswing heading into the NCAA tournament. Florida is second in the nation in offensive rebounding, with only Texas A&M grabbing more misses. Florida is fifth in the nation in offensive rebound percentage, grabbing more than 38% of its missed shots. Florida's guards are truly outstanding. Walter Clayton Jr. is the team's top scorer after transferring in from Iona, while UC Riverside transfer Zyon Pullin is an efficient guard who leads the Gators in assists and free throw attempts. Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel is the top rebounder, but the team's top offensive rebounder -- Micah Handlogten -- suffered a fractured leg in the SEC tournament final. Florida is not a stingy defensive team but has made strides there. Wins against Kentucky at Rupp, Auburn and Alabama are encouraging. But losses to Vanderbilt and Ole Miss temper the enthusiasm. X factor: Will Richard. The Belmont transfer is the second-leading 3-point shooter and has six games of 20 points or more. Florida has won all six games. Upset potential: Medium. Florida does not have bad losses out of conference. The Gators were beaten by Virginia, Baylor and Wake Forest but handled themselves well against everyone else. COLORADO BUFFALOES: The Buffs were among the last four in, but this team is talented enough to get to the second weekend. It begins and ends with KJ Simpson (19.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.9 APG), a star who took his game to another level this season. He forms a strong one-two punch with Tristan da Silva, making Colorado one of the more efficient offensive teams around. The Buffaloes also do a good job on the defensive boards, anchored by the big body of 6-foot-11 Eddie Lampkin Jr. X factor: Cody Williams. A projected lottery pick, Williams returned from an ankle injury to come off the bench during the three Pac-12 tournament games. If he can return to his pre-injury form, Colorado's tournament trajectory changes dramatically. Upset potential: High. WINNER: Florida. This game is Friday at 4:40 p.m. ET in Indianapolis. I like Colorado to clip Boise State in the First Four to reach this game, but not to advance further. It is a concern that Florida is playing without Micah Handlogten, but the Gators should win. No. 2 MARQUETTE vs. No. 7 FLORIDA Winner: Marquette. Again, Kolek's health is the key, but Marquette should win anyway. The Gators are not the best defensive team and can be loose with the ball at times. Marquette is a tough style to prepare for in a day. I like Marquette.
I hope he is wrong on Marquette although I'm sure Kolek will play against just as every elite opposing player who was considered questionable or probable ended up playing against us. Also, he may be right picking Colorado to beat Boise State but the Broncos only lost to Colorado State at CSU by 7 points and Colorado made it closer losing by 5 points in Fort Collins. So I wouldn't be shocked if Boise State pulled an upset of Colorado which has been up and down and I don't think played up to where they were expected to finish in the PAC-12 but did show up for the conference tournament
Will's been here way longer than he was at Belmont now, twice as long. Can these talking heads quit talking about "the transfer from Belmont"?
Colorado is good but the PAC-12 is probably the weakest of all the high-major conferences every year.
