Even with those guys their KenPom predictive metric made them like an 11 seed and not getting past the first round.
Maryland is a problem. A problem we can overcome but they mirror us in a lot of ways. Especially down low. That will be a good one.
There are some dudes in our bracket for sure. The other side of the bracket features St John’s with their #1 KenPom defense, Texas Tech who is #7 overall in KenPom, and Missouri. Luckily we only would have to play one of them, but we likely need to beat UConn and Maryland just to get there. As you say, these are all problems we can overcome, but it ain’t going to be easy.
I think by committee we might be better than them down low, but Queen looks like a problem we don't want to have. He's too big and strong for Condon. Too quick for Handy. Maybe Chinyelu could slow him down. Certainly not Haugh, giving up that much size. Time will tell. Hopefully they get upset before the Sweet 16.
They’re a problem if all of their starters play 40 minutes and don’t get tired. Since the odds of that are slim, we shouldn’t have a problem with them.
So I read a bit about UNC and maybe these Quad 1 stats can be very misleading. They were competitive in all of their losses in Quad 1 games and the majority were on the road and they played more Top 10 NET teams than anyone else on the bubble. So the spotlight is on them last night and they beat San Diego St by 27, and really just minutes before that they were up 40 and unloaded the bench. I wouldn't want to be in their bracket.
We saw firsthand how good they could be. But they haven’t been that good with any consistency and they don’t have great size or length. They also devolve into lots of iso offense that isn’t effective against longer, more athletic teams. Would be shocked if they have a deep run. But I could see that Ole Miss game being interesting. Beard will have his kids ready to play.
I remember this team and that game at that moment like it was yesterday. It was a different kind of team. Other than the even pre-cinderella teams of the days before that, it had its own specialness because it was the beginning of premium Gator b-ball. I remember being DEVASTATED even before I was an actual Gator but just because my brother went and when we lost Lon Kruger, I thought we would go back to nothing. Enter Billy D, a Petiino protege! It was exciting. Tickets then were free and they still wouldn’t sell out unless it was a huge game or we were doing well for a minute is my memory. Was a child then. But I was there for the years where we truly started to become perennial and it was fun for another reason. Even with the 04’s as I said earlier, it was still different because it was the first time. I would say that to me, from a depth and talent standpoint this is the best team Florida has ever seen. I could be wrong. I don’t know basketball like I know most sports. Well I played basketball in middle and high school but from a fan and player perspective I never liked the way the game is called. They treat it like tennis and not a contact sport too much. It should be called like street ball imo. Too open for ref interference but tbh I haven’t felt that as much but that’s probably because we’re winning. I am spiraling off sorry. I don’t think that team was nearly as good as this team because we have guys sitting to come in that are as good enough to make their own possible run next year and I think Golden looks like he’s enjoying it and I don’t think he goes anywhere. That BS crap with him is gone right? Anyway, as fun as all Gator basketball has been, this is still the best team IMHO and maybe wrong that this is best team that has worn the O&B for bball; bar none and that’s putting them against Horfod, Noah, Brewer, and with 2nds like Humprhire, Moss and friends still didn’t feel as strong as our team today. Now that’s a bold statement because those guys won 2 in a row but just how I feel. Those were 4 starting NBA players. Maybe I’m hyperbolic over feeling invincible. Maybe we lose to Norfolk but I don’t think we lose again and if we could start the season from where we’re at now we don’t lose a game. I truly feel that. big ups to Udon and Williams though that frankly in my eyes starter Gator b-ball. We’re not here today without Udon and taking a chance on the Gators and of course BD. The Gator OGs. **TLDR SUMMATION - we good
If we play a full 40 minutes like we did in our wins against Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee we won't lose. Winning 3 in 3 Days like we did gives our players and staff a ton of confidence in winning 2 in 3 Days or 2 in 2 Days. The hunger level will be the difference maker for whoever wins 6.
Amazing what being told you shouldn’t be there can do to motivate kids. I expected them to come out and play well/hard, I expect the same against Ole Miss. Although I think our baseball team was more talented last year, it’s the same type situation. I think that game tomorrow will be really tight, and definitely wouldn’t be surprised if UNC won
This Mount St Mary/ American game has had about six travel calls, a carry call, and a three second call. It's like 1986 or something
Tomorrow starts my favorite extended weekend of the year. I heard that Thursday morning was the most popular time for guys to get a vasectomy so that they could have a couple of days off to watch hoops.
They are really good. Fun team to watch. But look a little closer, and maybe it’s not quite we impressive. The stats of their starters are pretty inflated. On a per 100 possession basis, Handlogten and Chinyelu are both better than Reese, with Condon right behind, and ahead of Queen. In blocks, Handlogten and Condon are ahead is Reese, with Chinyelu right behind, and well ahead of Queen again. In terms of assists, Gillespie is well ahead of Clayton, but Condon, Haugh, Handlogten, Klavzar, and Aberdeen are all better than their next best rotation player. In terms of shooting efficiency, Handlogten, the Chinyelu, Richard, and Haugh are all ahead of their most efficient scorer. They play four guys off the bench (45 mpg), but none of them contribute much at all on the court: 10 pts, 8 rebs, 2 assists. Haugh almost does that alone! Our 4 bench guys (not including Alexis) give us 23 pts, 14 rebs, almost 6 assists, in 68 minutes (albeit inflated due to some of the injuries). They would be a challenging regional semis matchup, but our guys off the bench and compete with their starters. There won’t be much drop off. And they also don’t seem like a team that will slow its pace, maximize its possessions, and limit ours—which, IMO, is the key to beating us.
