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Florida will face Maryland in the 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Thursday night as March Madness continues to barrel forward into its second week of play.
The top-seeded Gators have won seven in a row and 14 of their last 15, which includes an SEC Tournament title as well, while the Terrapins fell short in their conference tournament but still managed to win its first two games in the Big Dance. None of that will matter when they tip off inside the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Ahead of the action, the Athletic's Jim Root broke down the matchups to watch when these two teams clash, focusing primarily on the big men but also noting some of the other peripheral issues involved.
"One small thing to watch for here is whether the tight travel timeline has any negative impact on Florida, which played in Raleigh on Sunday, quickly flew back home, then headed west to San Francisco. Maryland simply flew south from Seattle, having already acclimated to the West Coast," Root points out.
"On the court, though, Florida might have a key matchup advantage. Maryland’s loaded starting lineup, a.k.a. the Crab Five, has fueled the Terps’ success, but the secret sauce has been their ability to play through their bigs. Julian Reese and Derik Queen are comfortable working downhill with the ball in their hands, specifically as the roll men in ball screens. Though it did not come off a pick-and-roll, Queen’s buzzer-beater against Colorado State on Sunday displayed his off-the-bounce acumen."
While the Terps are nothing to scoff at, the Gators are ready to bring the pain.
"The Gators, however, are loaded with huge and mobile defenders in the frontcourt. Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon start, and Thomas Haugh has evolved into a sixth starter off the bench. And this matchup might be the one in which Micah Handlogten, the 7-footer who recently returned from a broken leg, makes his impact felt the most," Root explains.
"Players similar to Queen and Reese have struggled against the Gators. National player of the year candidate Johni Broome needed 19 field goal attempts to tally 18 points against this stout front line. Other skilled bigs, like Georgia’s Asa Newell, Tennessee’s Igor Milicic Jr. and Alabama’s Grant Nelson, have also had issues. If Queen and Reese cannot get going, the scoring burden might fall too heavily on Maryland’s trio of guards."
The No. 1 Florida Gators face off against the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 27. That game will be played in San Francisco, California, with tipoff slated for 7:39 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on TBS.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Key matchups for Florida vs Maryland in 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Continue reading...
The top-seeded Gators have won seven in a row and 14 of their last 15, which includes an SEC Tournament title as well, while the Terrapins fell short in their conference tournament but still managed to win its first two games in the Big Dance. None of that will matter when they tip off inside the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Ahead of the action, the Athletic's Jim Root broke down the matchups to watch when these two teams clash, focusing primarily on the big men but also noting some of the other peripheral issues involved.
"One small thing to watch for here is whether the tight travel timeline has any negative impact on Florida, which played in Raleigh on Sunday, quickly flew back home, then headed west to San Francisco. Maryland simply flew south from Seattle, having already acclimated to the West Coast," Root points out.
"On the court, though, Florida might have a key matchup advantage. Maryland’s loaded starting lineup, a.k.a. the Crab Five, has fueled the Terps’ success, but the secret sauce has been their ability to play through their bigs. Julian Reese and Derik Queen are comfortable working downhill with the ball in their hands, specifically as the roll men in ball screens. Though it did not come off a pick-and-roll, Queen’s buzzer-beater against Colorado State on Sunday displayed his off-the-bounce acumen."
While the Terps are nothing to scoff at, the Gators are ready to bring the pain.
"The Gators, however, are loaded with huge and mobile defenders in the frontcourt. Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon start, and Thomas Haugh has evolved into a sixth starter off the bench. And this matchup might be the one in which Micah Handlogten, the 7-footer who recently returned from a broken leg, makes his impact felt the most," Root explains.
"Players similar to Queen and Reese have struggled against the Gators. National player of the year candidate Johni Broome needed 19 field goal attempts to tally 18 points against this stout front line. Other skilled bigs, like Georgia’s Asa Newell, Tennessee’s Igor Milicic Jr. and Alabama’s Grant Nelson, have also had issues. If Queen and Reese cannot get going, the scoring burden might fall too heavily on Maryland’s trio of guards."
How to watch Florida-Maryland in Sweet 16
The No. 1 Florida Gators face off against the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 27. That game will be played in San Francisco, California, with tipoff slated for 7:39 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on TBS.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Key matchups for Florida vs Maryland in 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Continue reading...
