Under first year head coach Mike White, the Florida Gators are one of the country’s surprise contenders for the NCAA Tournament–thanks in large part to their upset of now No. 14 West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge over the weekend.
We look at the top five reasons for the Gators’ success and why that will equal an NCAA Tournament berth.
- Strength of schedule has been a point of emphasis for the committee in recent years, which should surprise no one at this point. The Gators didn’t play a lot of elite teams in their out of conference portion of the season but they did just enough. Sure, losing to Purdue caused them to miss out on a Top 25 win, but they also played five other Top 100 opponents.
- Beating Saint Joseph’s, Richmond, LSU, Georgia, and West Virginia gave the Gators their Top 100 wins thus far. And while none besides their win over the Mountaineers jump off the page and scream for attention, they’re all solid wins that will bode well for them come selection sunday.
- No bad losses, how many teams every year can say that? Of UF’s seven losses, only one has the chance to be considered a bad loss and that was on the road at Tennessee. If you’re going to lose outside of the RPI Top 100, it better be on the road to someone inside the To 150 at least. Florida accomplished that.
- Under Billy Donovan, UF was one of the most efficient offensive and defensive units in the country on nearly a yearly basis. The Gatos once again bode well in those areas, especially defensively. They’re only giving up 65 points a game on the season, while scoring nearly 75 points per game.
- The combination of senior Dorian Finney-Smith and freshman KeVaughn Allen has been spectacular all year long, combining for 26.7 points per game on the year. While Finney-Smith had shown flashes of his ability before, especially last year, he’s found a way to put it all together as a senior, averaging career highs in points and rebounds.
