No. 7 Florida Gators Why they will advance Other than a puzzling loss to Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale, the Gators remained on a steady upward arc in SEC play. Walter Clayton Jr. (17 PPG) and Zyon Pullin (15.7 PPG, 5.8 APG) are stone-cold playmakers late in tight games. Tyrese Samuel (13.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG) is a physical interior force in the nation's 17th most efficient offense. Why they won't advance Despite having the nation's 11th tallest team per KenPom, the Gators struggled to defend the paint and leading rebounder, 7-1 sophomore Micah Handlogten, suffered a season-ending leg injury in the SEC title game. They are 202nd in defensive rebounding percentage and allowed opponents to make 48.1% of their 2-point shots (104th). The Gators were also prone to cold shooting nights. Did you know? Todd Golden, 38, is the nation's second-youngest power conference coach and despite his western roots seems comfortable in Gainesville, recently signing a contract extension through 2030. Under him, the Gators played at the fastest pace in program history this season (30th adjusted tempo) and had the best offense (17th efficiency) since Billy Donovan steered the program to the Final Four in 2014. -- Brian Mull By the numbers Eye test rank: 23 Résumé rating: 20 NCAA seed list: 25 Joey Brackets says ... The loss of Handlogten is troubling. A potential Sweet 16 team, the Gators now figure to struggle against whoever emerges from the First Four (Boise State or Colorado). I would take either over Florida at this point, which is unfortunate given its impressive growth under Golden. Final field rank: 38
People act like we will be playing 4 against 5 without Micah. His loss sucks, but we have played extremely well in games where he didn’t contribute much and played poorly in games where he got double doubles.
Tourney pundits: “Guards are the key to your success in March.” Also tourney pundits: “Florida has elite guards, but the loss of one of their four bigs means they lose to a play in team in the first round.”
If Pullin, Headband, Richard, Samuel & Condon play well, we only need Riley to not stink it up. Play under control, get a few rebounds and don't put a goose egg on the board. If he goes ballz out, our first two opponents are in trouble.
