Unlike most teams that got into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the Florida Gators did not throw a party in the locker room or get too excited when it was announced that East Tennessee State would be their opponent.
It should have been a special moment for a team that has not made the tournament in two years, but a poor finish to the season left the Gators with a bad taste in their mouths. Florida players knew it would be a tough week ahead and changes would need to be made to have success in the tournament.
“No one likes losing, so the mood right now is ‘We’ve lost two in a row’. It’s not, ‘Yay, we’re going to the tournament’. I hope our guys aren’t feeling like that,” said Mike White. “I don’t sense they are. I sense a serious tone right now, respect for our opponent … These guys went to Mississippi State and won. These guys lost to Tennessee, who we could have easily lost to, by four points. It’s a serious tone. It’s not a celebratory tone.”
After losing three of the last four games, the only thing to celebrate was the generous seeding. Despite the extremely disappointing finish, the committee still awarded Florida with a No. 4 seed and an opportunity to play in Orlando, Fla., just two hours down the road.
“We’ve known for probably a month that we’re in, so kind of anti-climactic,” White said on making the tournament. “But I tell you, it was exciting to see that we’re a four. Whoever we were going to draw, we knew was going to be very, very challenging, and ETSU obviously is going to present a lot of challenges for us. But the fact that our guys earned a four, I thought they were very deserving, so it’s a neat thing for our guys. Most importantly, to be able to play in front of Gator fans in Orlando. It was good news. We had a tough week to 10 days. Yesterday evening was a little bit better for us.”
Florida is the favorite to win its first-round game, but it is one of the most popular picks for an upset. While the Gators are on a downward spiral, ETSU has won nine of its last 10 games, including its conference championship.
The Bucs’ size will challenge the Gators inside without John Egbunu, leading many to believe this is a bad matchup for a struggling Florida team. Along with that, four-seeds going down in the first round is not unheard of, but the Gators see the upset predictions as even more fuel to the fire.
“Everybody’s saying it,” said White on the upset predictions. “I hope It helps our guys. It doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t care … Our guys heard it. They saw it. I don’t know how much they’ll read this week. I hope none. I hope they all crack their phones and throw them in the garbage. Hopefully it’s a tiny, tiny bit more motivation. I don’t know how much more we need. We need a W in the worst way.”
The Gators are looking to put the memory of the last two weeks in the rearview mirror. The NCAA Tournament is a fresh start, and as previously seen this season, Florida can easily go on a streak against high-level teams when it is playing its best basketball.
Before the Gators can even think about making any type of run, they must find a way to regroup and get back to a winning mindset.
White even took a positive away from entering the tournament on such a low note, saying he is not worried about losing to a hungry mid-major team due to his players feeling overly confident.
“I think that if we were coming in having won seven in a row by a margin of 10 points a game, feeling great about ourselves, it would present danger,” he said. “We’re as hungry as they are. If we’re not, shame on us. We’ve lost two in a row. We’re searching for a win. We’re happy to be in the tournament, but we need a win.”