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SAN FRANCISCO ― Florida basketball has found itself on the verge of its first Final Four appearance in more than a decade.
The No. 1 seed Florida Gators (33-4) will face No. 3 seed Texas Tech (28-8) in an Elite Eight contest on Saturday at the Chase Center (6:09 p.m. ET, TBS) for an invitation to the Final Four in San Antonio. UF is vying for its sixth Final Four trip in school history, and first since 2014.
The matchup features two promising young coaches who have built their rosters through a mix of transfers and player development. Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland (age 48) and Florida coach Todd Golden (age 39) were both named two of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award, given to college basketball's best coach, earlier this month. Neither made the finalist stage, but both are here, nonetheless.
Florida has won its first three NCAA Tournament games by an average margin of 14.7 points. Still, there's a feeling that UF hasn't peaked in March Madness yet. Florida turned the ball over 13 times in the first half of its 87-71 Sweet 16 win over Maryland. Against UConn, UF had eight first-half turnovers and needed to rally from down six points in the second half to edge the Huskies 77-75.
Even in its first game, a 95-69 win against 16-seed Norfolk State, Florida had some defensive lapses in the second half after building an early 32-point lead.
"There's little stuff we know can improve on and what's helped us be great all year," Florida senior guard Will Richard said. "So, I feel like we can get back to playing that and take our game to the next level."
Florida showed a glimpse of that in the second half against Maryland, scoring 11 of its 16 baskets off assists while rolling up 47 points in the final 20 minutes.
"It was a step in the right direction with how complete we can play," said Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon, who returned to the floor in the second half after suffering an ankle injury early in the game. "Definitely Auburn or Alabama, when we played at theirs, is two examples of the team playing well together. And I think that's the time we're the hardest to guard, when we're sharing the ball and making really good plays for each other, that's the best, that's Gator basketball."
Golden said the tension of getting past a tight Round of 32 game against UConn may have factored into Florida playing too loose early against the Terrapins. Florida has shown an ability to right itself through rocky stretches, having won nine games in a row and 15 of its last 16.
"Coming into this weekend, we were a little looser, and we were too loose with the ball in the first half yesterday," Golden said. "I thought we played more with more freedom in the second half. I thought we took off. So hopefully we can continue that tomorrow."
Texas Tech pulled off an epic second-half comeback in its Sweet 16 win over Arkansas, rallying from down 16 points to beat the Razorbacks 85-83 in overtime.
McCasland instilled a belief in his team even when it was at its lowest point.
"It's our mindset every game, every practice," Texas Tech guard Kevin Overton said. "Coach Mac does a great job reminding us we're going to win the game. Regardless of the adversity that comes through, we're going to win the game. So, with that mindset, you just keep playing."
The game draws parallels to UF's last Elite Eight trip in 2017 in New York City. In the Sweet 16 that year, Florida won a late-night game, beating Wisconsin 84-83 in overtime at Madison Square Garden on a shot at the buzzer by guard Chris Chiozza. But Florida was unable to ride the emotional momentum of the win into its Elite Eight matchup against South Carolina, falling flat in a 77-70 loss to the Gamecocks.
McCasland said he expects the Red Raiders to bounce back and be physically and emotionally ready to play against a deep UF team that outscored Maryland 29-3 in bench points on Thursday night. Starting guard Chance McMillian, who has sat out Texas Tech's last four games with an oblique strain, remains questionable for the UF game, McCasland said.
"Ultimately, I think your practice throughout the year is what prepares you for this," McCasland said. "And you can't do anything in one day that's any different that's going to make that big of an impact.
"But we will get out there and we'll move around today. We'll stretch. We had several guys that played close to 40 minutes or over. So, I think our ability to get rest is the most important part, and that's what we've done with our team."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball hasn't peaked in March Madness yet, could it come against TTU in Elite Eight?
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The No. 1 seed Florida Gators (33-4) will face No. 3 seed Texas Tech (28-8) in an Elite Eight contest on Saturday at the Chase Center (6:09 p.m. ET, TBS) for an invitation to the Final Four in San Antonio. UF is vying for its sixth Final Four trip in school history, and first since 2014.
The matchup features two promising young coaches who have built their rosters through a mix of transfers and player development. Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland (age 48) and Florida coach Todd Golden (age 39) were both named two of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award, given to college basketball's best coach, earlier this month. Neither made the finalist stage, but both are here, nonetheless.
Florida has won its first three NCAA Tournament games by an average margin of 14.7 points. Still, there's a feeling that UF hasn't peaked in March Madness yet. Florida turned the ball over 13 times in the first half of its 87-71 Sweet 16 win over Maryland. Against UConn, UF had eight first-half turnovers and needed to rally from down six points in the second half to edge the Huskies 77-75.
Even in its first game, a 95-69 win against 16-seed Norfolk State, Florida had some defensive lapses in the second half after building an early 32-point lead.
"There's little stuff we know can improve on and what's helped us be great all year," Florida senior guard Will Richard said. "So, I feel like we can get back to playing that and take our game to the next level."
Florida showed a glimpse of that in the second half against Maryland, scoring 11 of its 16 baskets off assists while rolling up 47 points in the final 20 minutes.
"It was a step in the right direction with how complete we can play," said Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon, who returned to the floor in the second half after suffering an ankle injury early in the game. "Definitely Auburn or Alabama, when we played at theirs, is two examples of the team playing well together. And I think that's the time we're the hardest to guard, when we're sharing the ball and making really good plays for each other, that's the best, that's Gator basketball."
Golden said the tension of getting past a tight Round of 32 game against UConn may have factored into Florida playing too loose early against the Terrapins. Florida has shown an ability to right itself through rocky stretches, having won nine games in a row and 15 of its last 16.
"Coming into this weekend, we were a little looser, and we were too loose with the ball in the first half yesterday," Golden said. "I thought we played more with more freedom in the second half. I thought we took off. So hopefully we can continue that tomorrow."
Florida basketball facing a TTU squad on an emotional high
Texas Tech pulled off an epic second-half comeback in its Sweet 16 win over Arkansas, rallying from down 16 points to beat the Razorbacks 85-83 in overtime.
McCasland instilled a belief in his team even when it was at its lowest point.
"It's our mindset every game, every practice," Texas Tech guard Kevin Overton said. "Coach Mac does a great job reminding us we're going to win the game. Regardless of the adversity that comes through, we're going to win the game. So, with that mindset, you just keep playing."
The game draws parallels to UF's last Elite Eight trip in 2017 in New York City. In the Sweet 16 that year, Florida won a late-night game, beating Wisconsin 84-83 in overtime at Madison Square Garden on a shot at the buzzer by guard Chris Chiozza. But Florida was unable to ride the emotional momentum of the win into its Elite Eight matchup against South Carolina, falling flat in a 77-70 loss to the Gamecocks.
McCasland said he expects the Red Raiders to bounce back and be physically and emotionally ready to play against a deep UF team that outscored Maryland 29-3 in bench points on Thursday night. Starting guard Chance McMillian, who has sat out Texas Tech's last four games with an oblique strain, remains questionable for the UF game, McCasland said.
"Ultimately, I think your practice throughout the year is what prepares you for this," McCasland said. "And you can't do anything in one day that's any different that's going to make that big of an impact.
"But we will get out there and we'll move around today. We'll stretch. We had several guys that played close to 40 minutes or over. So, I think our ability to get rest is the most important part, and that's what we've done with our team."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball hasn't peaked in March Madness yet, could it come against TTU in Elite Eight?
Continue reading...
