Florida Gators

Brian bought in early on Florida. Myself? Not so much but I am now. My concerns were injuries and the Gators continuing parade of suspensions and eligibility issues. Those appear settled and with the recent clearing of freshman big man, Chris Walker, the Gators and coach Billy Donovan appear headed for another shot at a long March run.

The Gators have won 14 straight games, with a few close shaves in conference play. Their only two losses came in non-conference play and both on the road. They lost at the buzzer to UConn and at Wisconsin where they were without Dorian Finney-Smith and Scottie Wilbekin. While Badger propagandists, Tom Oates and Jeff Potrykus point to the Badgers missing Gasser in last year's game at Gainseville, let's be serious for a moment. Play that game today at full strength and the Gators are favored, even in Madison. The Gators have a home win over Kansas and neutral court win over Memphis. They've yet to play Kentucky, traveling to Lexington on Saturday the 15th. According to KenPom, that is their only game where they won't be favored to win remaining on the docket. A 1-seed could be in play for Florida.

In KenPom, the Gators are currently 5th overall. They're ranked higher on defense, 7th overall in adjusted d. They hold opponents to a 43.5% effective fg%, 9th in the nation. They force turnovers, with a defensive turnover 5 of 21.5%, 31st. They're about average on the defensive glass. Opponents have an offensive rebounding % of 30%, 110th nationally. They do a good job defensively without fouling. In the paint, teams only shoot 41%. That's 5th best in the nation.

They're a little worse on offense but they've been gradually improving since the beginning of the season as they get players back. Early KP numbers had them in the 100's but they've moved up to 26th. They play a slow tempo. They average 63 possessions per game, 328th in the nation. They average 71ppg. They're effective fg% is 51.5%, 90th. The Gators turnover % is 17.8%, about average. They are better on the offensive glass, with an offensive rebounding % of 37.3%. They also get to the line but only make 66% of their free throws. That's not good as they ranks 290th in the nation.

I noted they added Chris "Sky" Walker, a big man earlier this week as he got his first action against Missouri. He looked pretty raw but you can see the athleticism and explosiveness. I'm not certain how much he'l help but if he gives them 10-15 good minutes, the Gators just got a whole lot better and deeper. Their core are three seniors, G Scottie Wilbekin, F Casey Prather and C Patric Young. Wilbekin runs the show and shoots 38% from deep. Prather is the leading scorer, getting 15.2ppg with 5 boards per game. He has an effective fg% of 62.6% which is slightly worse than his FT shooting. Young shoots 56% at the line. Both see the ball a lot, so this could be an issue in close games. Young gives them 10.7 & 6.6. Sophomore Dorian Finney-Smith also struggles at the line but is a good offensive rebounder. Fellow sophomore Michael Frazier is arguably the SEC'sbest deep threat, hitting 43% from distance, scoring 12.6ppg. There's a lot of talent here, a lot of good college basketball players.

The Gators have made 3 straight Elite 8's, being stopped short of the Final 4 by Butler, Louisville & Michigan. Michigan shot them off the court last year in what was one of the tournaments bigger surprises. The Gators certainly have another Elite 8 run in them and possibly deeper. They've played some close games recently and mixed in some impressive routes as well. There's an awful lot to like about this team and they seem capable of handling pressure.