Gators await first-round foe
No. 6 Florida to face UCLA-St. Bonaventure First Four winner.
GAINESVILLE — Florida is headed to Dallas to start the NCAA Tournament, drawing a No. 6 seed and an opening matchup at 9:57 p.m. Thursday (truTV) with the winner of St. Bonaventure and UCLA’s First Four matchup.
The Gators’ path to the postseason has been rocky and unpredictable, right up through this weekend when they went one and out in the SEC Tournament with an 80-72 loss to Arkansas on Friday night. Prior to that, though, Florida (20-12) had three straight impressive wins over Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky, the eventual SEC Tournament champion.
That final stretch is a fitting encapsulation of this Gators team. They have piled up significant wins over top competition, including Gonzaga, Cincinnati, a season sweep of Kentucky and a lopsided victory over Auburn. They also lost to Loyola Chicago, got blown out by Florida State (both NCAA Tournament teams) and lost six of eight SEC games during one stretch late in the season, proving how tenuous any momentum has been.
Just a few weeks ago there was some question whether Florida would make the NCAA Tournament, with coach Mike White challenging players. The three-game winning streak to close the regular season erased those doubts.
Last year, the Gators shook off a rough lead-in to the NCAA Tournament by going on a run to the Elite Eight. If they are to launch a similar run, they’ll have to start with a win over the Bruins (21-11) or Bonnies (25-7), both among the last four teams into the field. The two No. 11 seeds will play Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
The Bruins are led by junior guard Aaron Holiday (20.3 points per game) and 7-foot senior center Thomas Welsh (13.0 points, 10.7 rebounds per game), who would pose a particularly daunting matchup with Florida’s wellknown deficiencies on the interior.
St. Bonaventure’s season resume includes wins over fellow NCAA Tournament teams Syracuse and regular-season splits with Rhode Island and Davidson. They are led by senior guards Jaylen Adams (19.8 PPG) and Matt Mobley (18.5 PPG).
Florida was slotted in the East region, with Villanova as the top seed. If the Gators were to win their first tournament game, they would play either No. 3 seed Texas Tech or No. 14 Stephen F. Austin.