When the Florida Gators wrapped up the SEC Tournament, they continued their schedule as if they were still in the middle of the season. Except, instead of hopping on a bus from Nashville to Gainesville, they hopped on a bus to Indianapolis.
Once the NCAA Tournament field was set, Florida did not jump straight into studying Virginia Tech. The Gators simply focused on themselves.
In fact, the team did not watch any film on the Hokies until Wednesday night ahead of Friday’s first-round matchup.
When one reporter asked Tre Mann about his early impressions of Virginia Tech on Wednesday afternoon, he admitted he didn’t know much about the Hokies yet.
At first, it seemed a bit puzzling. But it was 100 percent by design from Florida’s coaching staff. Mike White said he didn’t think it was necessary to spend more than 48 hours on a scout, even in this setting.
“If we’re going to try to compete for championships, we need to approach every day the same way,” White said. “Therefore, we’re going to have the same exact two-day prep that we do for a non-conference game, a conference game. We’re going to stay in the moment one possession at a time.”
Still, this isn’t a regular season game. It’s March Madness, and if Florida wants to make any kind of run in the tournament, it will have to play its best, most consistent basketball of the season.
White acknowledged the added meaning behind the games to come, but he doesn’t think his team can afford to treat it any differently.
“Everyone’s urgency has increased a little bit,” he said. “It’s the NCAA Tournament, but it’s a high-major, neutral-site game as well. So, again, let’s play with emotion, but we can’t be emotional about this either. We’ve got to play well. We’ve got to channel our emotions.”
As Florida enters this final stretch, it is hard not to think about what could have been. Had Keyontae Johnson remained healthy, where could this team be seeded? How big of a run could it make? How many accolades could he have racked up?
In the grand scheme of things, none of that matters.
He might not be able to do the one thing he loves most right now, but he is still able to be a leader for his team. White said that Johnson was even trash talking the guys at practice on Wednesday, and he put the team on the line a few times because he didn’t like the effort he saw.
“Here’s a guy who deserves to be out here as much as anyone and would be one of the better players in the tournament,” White said. “And he can’t do it. He’s not allowed to do it. Hopefully we can play with a bunch of gratitude and just be thankful that we have an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.”
Without Johnson, the Gators found a new player to lean on in Mann.
In the last half of the season, Florida went as Mann went. Or, he at least kept the Gators competitive in games that could have gotten embarrassing.
Mann is building a resume worthy of making the jump to the NBA, so Florida needs to take full advantage of having him on the floor while it still can.
“He’s just a really good player who’s just showing people how good he is,” White said. “And he’s going to continue to develop because he really works. And he’s a high-character basketball player.”
But the Gators can’t expect Mann to carry them through the tournament. He scored 30 against Tennessee in Nashville, but Florida still managed to lose by 12.
Despite a bumpy last few weeks, he believes his supporting cast will step up with the season on the line.
“I feel like when we put it all together though we’re going to be pretty good,” Mann said. “Some shots aren’t falling for some people right now. Everybody goes through slumps. I have confidence in our guys that they’ll pick it up when it’s time.”