Photo: Todd Golden; Credit: Zach Goodall
Colorado took down Boise State in a low-scoring, 60-53, affair in the First Four on Wednesday to set up a date with the Florida Gators on Friday afternoon in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Gators can now begin to gameplan for their first round opponent, a dynamic almost exclusive to March.
“It ends up being a little bit of a break even because I think we do have a little bit of an advantage because the teams play on Wednesday night,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said on Tuesday. “I think we’re at a little bit of a disadvantage because we can’t truly prepare for anybody until, you know, late Wednesday night. You know, it all works itself out at the end of the day.“
The Gators will take the floor for an NCAA Tournament bout for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign, where they beat Virginia Tech before being upset by Oral Roberts in round two.
Florida has displayed a vastly improved product this season after back-to-back underwhelming campaigns. In the second year of Todd Golden’s control of the program, the Gators displayed a drastic uptick in offensive production to catapult the unit to a top six finish in one of the nation’s top league at 21-10 (11-7 SEC).
The unit caught fire in the SEC Tournament, winning three games over the like of No. 11 Georgia, No. 3 Alabama and No. 7 Texas A&M to advance to the championship game against No. 4 Auburn. Despite a loss to the Tigers, UF’s surge built valuable momentum for Golden and Co. heading for the remaining win-or-go-home portion of the season.
“I think it should be a catalyst for us moving forward,” Golden said.
Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. have led the Gators this season, producing as uber-effective, multi-dimensional guards. Tyrese Samuel has notable aided the group from the frontcourt with complementary contributions from players like Will Richard, Riley Kugel, Micah Handlogten, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen.
However, Handlogten is unavailable for tournament play after suffering a broken leg in Florida loss to Auburn in the league title contest. Samuel and Condon will be tasked with picking up the slack from the five, particularly in the boards, as the unit aims to make a postseason push.
The Gators’ road to Phoenix — the location of the Final Four and National Championship — begins in Indianapolis, where Florida will face off with the Buffaloes on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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