What to know: (4) Florida Gators vs. (13) East Tennessee State Buccaneers
Game Information
When: Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 3:10 p.m. (ET)
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.
Records: Florida (24-8, 14-4 SEC); East Tennessee State (27-7, 14-4 SoCon)
Coaches: Mike White- 45-23 (2nd season at Florida), 146-63 (6th season overall); Steve Forbes- 51-19 (2nd season at ETSU/overall)
TV: SEC truTV
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Projected Starters
| Florida | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
| Devin Robinson | F | 6-8 | 200 | Junior | 10.9 pts / 6.1 reb |
| Justin Leon | F | 6-8 | 206 | Senior | 7.0 pts / 3.7 reb |
| kevarrius hayes | C | 6-9 | 218 | Sophomore | 6.0 pts / 4.3 reb |
| Kasey hill | G | 6-1 | 175 | Senior | 9.8 pts / 4.6 asts |
| Kevaughn allen | G | 6-2 | 183 | Sophomore | 13.9 pts / 2.7 reb |
| east tennessee state | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
| hanner mosquera-perea | F | 6-9 | 230 | Senior | 8.4 pts / 4.6 reb |
| tevin glass | F | 6-8 | 220 | Senior | 8.9 pts / 6.2 reb |
| t.j. cromer | G | 6-3 | 195 | Senior | 19.1 pts / 3.2 asts |
| desonta bradford | G | 6-4 | 190 | Junior | 10.6 pts / 4.5 reb |
| a.j. merriweather | G | 6-2 | 205 | Senior | 8.6 pts / 3.6 reb |
Preview
ETSU brings an extremely experienced team into the NCAA Tournament, starting four seniors and one junior. It is the seventh-most experienced team in the nation.
The Bucs finished the season hot, winning nine of their last 10 games and clinching a SoCon Tournament title. ETSU battled with a couple of SEC teams in the regular season, taking down Mississippi State on the road and falling to Tennessee by only four points.
The Gators, on the other hand, are limping into the tournament having lost three of their last four, with back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt.
Florida played at its highest level of the season during a nine-game win streak between the end of January and February, meaning it might have peaked a little too soon. If the Gators get hot like that again, they could be dangerous in the tournament.
The Gators are in desperate need of finding an inside game without John Egbunu and will need more consistency and aggressiveness from leading scorers, KeVaughn Allen and Canyon Barry.
ETSU’s offense is led by T.J. Cromer, who puts up 19.1 points per game. With a .404 three-point percentage, Cromer’s 103 three-pointers this season are tops on the team and 18th in the nation. Cromer is only joined by Desonta Bradford (10.6) in double-digits.
Bradford leads the team in assists, with 131 this season, while Tevin Glass grabs a team-high 6.2 rebounds.
The Bucs will try to force a lot of turnovers, which is an area Florida has struggled in as of late. ETSU 8.4 steals per game is 14th in the country, while its 15.6 turnovers forced is good for 27th. A.J. Merriweather averages 1.6 steals per game.
Thursday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams, but the first since 1980. The Gators have a perfect 4-0 record in the matchup.
ETSU makes its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first appearance since 2010. The Bucs have only made it past the first round twice in those appearances.
This will be Florida’s 18th appearance in the event, not including vacated appearances in 1987 and 1988. The Gators have a 39-15 record in the tournament, with two national championships (2007, 2008) and five Final Four appearances (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2014).
Florida has four straight first-round victories and has won its first game of the tournament 12 times.
If the Gators win on Thursday, Mike White will join Billy Donovan and Lon Kruger as the only coaches to win an NCAA Tournament game at Florida.