MBB OGT: NCAA Tournament -- March 21, 2025 -- (1) FLORIDA v. (16) Norfolk State -- 6:50 PM [TNT]

Respectfully disagree. With the up and down pace Florida plays, there's no way 5 guys can hang with us. They would simply be too exhausted. Just impossible. There's no team in the country that plays 5 guys without subbing periodically. The gamne just isn;t played that way anymore. Maryland has a couple of guys that will come off the bench, but there's a big drop off in talent compared toi the consistent performace we get from the 3-4 guys that come off our bench. And that's true every game. Duke can match us with quality depth. Maryland cannot. However, watching UCONN, I'm legitimately concerned just about getting by them first. Pulling for an Oklahoma upset.

 

Gators got up big and started playing with their food. I think it is a great teaching moment for TG. They will be fine next round. I feel sorry for our opponent. No team in this tournament scares me. We can match up with anyone. Can we be beat, sure, but this team CAN be champions! Let’s enjoy the ride!

 

UConn should not be a concern. They are small and hardly play any defense. We'll hang 90+ on them if they get by Oklahoma if we are hitting our threes at our normal percentage.

 

Math would dictate that we had more players scoring.

example
they had 3 players scoring 10 = 30

we had 2 with 10 = 20

6 with 9 = 54

we would beat them 74-30 and the same could be said

 

I will take the devil we know over the devil we don’t. Bring on OU.

 

Same!

 

I wish Klavsar worked harder of the ball to get open looks. He doesn’t miss usually when open. Struggles when contested. He can shoot the lights out.

 

With his 23 points, Clayton (1235) passes Kenyan Weaks (1996-2000) at #33 in most points in Florida history.

 

Clayton - 23 points (6-of-11 FG, 4-of-9 3pt, 7-of-8 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Asst, 4 TO)
MartinA - 17 points (5-of-10 FG, 2-of-5 3pt, 5-of-6 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Asst, 1 TO)
HaughT - 13 points (4-of-9 FG, 0-of-5 3pt, 5-of-7 FT, 3 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 Stl, 4 Asst, 0 TO)
Condon - 12 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3pt, 2-of-3 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Blk, 2 Stl, 3 Asst, 1 TO)
Richard - 8 points (1-of-6 FG, 1-of-6 3pt, 5-of-6 FT, 4 Reb, 1 Stl, 5 Asst, 2 TO)
DenzelA- 8 points (3-of-4 FG, 1-of-1 3pt, 1-of-1 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 0 Asst, 1 TO)

 

Well said, no easy games the rest of the way. It’s very obvious there are some teams playing really well.

 

The lackluster close doesn't worry me. I didn't like it, but it doesn't worry me.

That opening 10-15 minutes was some of the best ball we've played and one of the more dominating beatdowns a team can deliver. It's difficult to not just know you've completely outclassed your opponent and take that killer drive down a couple notches.

That was a gutty NSU team and even sleepwalking, we never let them sniff a competitive opportunity.

No injuries. A dub. Move on. I see no reason to expect that type of play again.

Unless we're up 30 again. Then I'll begrudgingly accept it if I must.

 

So, Norfolk coach was angry before the game, at the prognosticators, because they were a 28.5 point underdog? Well... he was right to be angry because they only lost by 26 points... Danged prognosticators.

 

Next.

 

What a game. Let’s go Okkie!

 

Right. Flip this game around, and how would we feel being in a 5-pt game at the half that gets tied at the under 16 mark of the second, before blowing them out the rest of the way? We would probably be talking about our “spurtability,” but would have been on pins and needles until then. Instead, we put them to bed midway through the first half. It was a curb stomping that allowed us to rotate guys heavily. We definitely let our foot off the gas, yada yada, but I don’t recall them ever getting closer than 18.

Since UNC, we’ve known that, because of our more aggressive ball screen coverage to take away threes and to disrupt passing lanes and force turnovers, our bigs can be attacked off switches and in help situations. The hope is that our length bothers shooters in the paint (all the more with Handlogten playing now) and that we don’t let them get all the way to the rim. Last night, Norfolk just hit some insanely hard looks over Handlogten and Condon. But there was nothing inherently new about this. If good teams hit contested 3s (UK, Mizzou) or paint 2s, we are going to have to outscore them. In this case, it just made a blowout less of a blowout.

 

The second half of this game reminded me of when Missouri just kept driving the lane making baskets and accumulated a bunch of offensive rebounds in the process. NSU isn't a good three point shooting team, so I imagine if the game was close we might have switched to a zone defensively.

Florida 95-69 Norfolk State (Mar 21, 2025) Box Score - ESPN

 

They are the last 2 nat. champs and have a great coach. They are a major concern. Any team you play in a winner go home format is of concern and especially UConn with pedigree, players on current team, and a great coach.

 

How did we get noon time slot?

 

CBS wanted the early doubleheader from Raleigh, so they get the two, one seeds playing Sunday, the twice defending champion from the eastern time zone and Baylor.

 

Yes all this talk about Maryland - let’s focus on beating UConn first. They have done pretty well in last few NCAAT if i do recall