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In this week's Swampcast, Kevin Brockway and Noah Ram of the Gainesville Sun discuss Florida basketball entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and winning its fifth SEC Tournament title in school history.
Celebrate Florida basketball’s SEC title with our commemorative posters
The Florida Gators (30-4) open NCAA Tournament play as the No. 1 seed in the West Region and will face 16-seed Norfolk State on Friday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. (6:50 p.m., TNT).
Ram noted how the perception of Florida has shifted since their impressive SEC Tournament run that included wins over Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee.
"You beat Tennessee, win the SEC and then all the sudden now it seems like a rarity where you will read a pundit, take their bracket and Florida is not the national champion," Ram said. "They may not be the number one overall seed but certainly they are being treated like the No. 1 overall seed and definitely being treated like the best team in the country right now."
Brockway is picking three SEC teams to reach the Final Four ― Auburn, Florida and Tennessee ― and says UF is playing at as high a level offensively as it has all season.
"Just from watching them up close in the SEC is how connected they are and how the offense executes," Brockway said. "It's up to No. 1 now in KenPom ... the way the ball moves, the way people know where each other is on the floor, they are executing at a really high level."
Later, Brockway and Ram were joined by Rodd Baxley of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, who discussed Duke and North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament and his perception of Florida after UF beat UNC last December.
"They live up to the hype as an offensive rebounding monster," Baxley said. "We're used to seeing that at North Carolina, with Roy Williams teams, and Florida kind of looked like one of those North Carolina teams under Roy Williams. Obviously, the guards stand out, Alijah Martin, he's already been to a Final Four, Will Richard, Walter Clayton is in range when he walks into the gym. So, I'm really impressed with the Gators."
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: Swampcast analyzed Florida basketball heading into March Madness at a No. 1 seed
Continue reading...
Celebrate Florida basketball’s SEC title with our commemorative posters
The Florida Gators (30-4) open NCAA Tournament play as the No. 1 seed in the West Region and will face 16-seed Norfolk State on Friday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. (6:50 p.m., TNT).
Ram noted how the perception of Florida has shifted since their impressive SEC Tournament run that included wins over Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee.
"You beat Tennessee, win the SEC and then all the sudden now it seems like a rarity where you will read a pundit, take their bracket and Florida is not the national champion," Ram said. "They may not be the number one overall seed but certainly they are being treated like the No. 1 overall seed and definitely being treated like the best team in the country right now."
Brockway is picking three SEC teams to reach the Final Four ― Auburn, Florida and Tennessee ― and says UF is playing at as high a level offensively as it has all season.
"Just from watching them up close in the SEC is how connected they are and how the offense executes," Brockway said. "It's up to No. 1 now in KenPom ... the way the ball moves, the way people know where each other is on the floor, they are executing at a really high level."
Later, Brockway and Ram were joined by Rodd Baxley of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, who discussed Duke and North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament and his perception of Florida after UF beat UNC last December.
"They live up to the hype as an offensive rebounding monster," Baxley said. "We're used to seeing that at North Carolina, with Roy Williams teams, and Florida kind of looked like one of those North Carolina teams under Roy Williams. Obviously, the guards stand out, Alijah Martin, he's already been to a Final Four, Will Richard, Walter Clayton is in range when he walks into the gym. So, I'm really impressed with the Gators."
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: Swampcast analyzed Florida basketball heading into March Madness at a No. 1 seed
Continue reading...
