Anybody who stayed up late to watch the National Champion Gators overtime defeat to Kansas the other night saw the riveting action of two College Basketball heavyweights fighting it out to the last second. Despite the loss, and some horrible late game decisions by Corey Brewer and Taurean Green, I feel as bullish as ever about Gator Basketball and our chances of repeating as Champions. Here's Why:
- Despite falling behind early and then again late in the second half, The Gators forced overtime mostly through scrappy play on the boards and some clutch defense.
- The Gators forced overtime despite a horrid shooting night from outside, and some horrible decision making by Taurean Green at the point.
- The Gators once again proved that they can go into a hostile atmosphere and not allow the crowd to affect their offensive flow.
- Florida legitimized itself as having staying power. While the preseason previews have all picked us in the top 2 nationally, many of the elites who cover College Basketball have snickered that UF is a flash in the pan that doesn't have the tradition of Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA or North Carolina. Taking Kansas to the brink when our shooters were off in a hostile atmosphere should pretty much take the sails out those snobbish arguments.
OTHER BASKETBALL NOTES:
- Florida State failed it's first big test of the year being blown out @ #3 Pitt the other night. Once again, the Big East is proving to be far superior to the ACC. It's no wonder that Va Tech and Miami who were the two worst Big East teams in 2003-2004, went right into the ACC and finished in the middle of the pack the next season after losing their top scorers to graduation.
- Miami plays Northwestern in Evanston tomorrow on ESPN2. This will be an important game for the Canes who finally have a full squad availible after some early season suspensions and injuries.
- FOX Sports ACC Sunday Night Hoops Package returns with a tripleheader this weekend. Miami hosts #17 Georgia Tech in the second game (the ACC opener for both teams) and the defending champion Gators travel to Tallahasssee to face the Seminoles in the nightcap. This tripleheader is best reason yet to skip the NFL on Sunday and tune into NCAA Basketball!
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1 comments:
Kartik, take a hint. All of these posts about the Gator Basketball team are a waste. We are in November. Nobody is paying any attention to Gator Basketball right now. Nobody cares. The Gators are playing for the SEC Title. Florida State is a mess but bowl bound. Miami fires Coker but is bowl bound with a lame duck coach. USF beats West Virginia. FOOTBALL! That's what people care about right now. Save the Basketball for March.
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