In the NCAA Tournament opener the Gators and Hokies weren’t content to only play 40 minutes as a game tying three from Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne found twine with under two seconds remaining. That forced overtime, where a poster dunk from Anthony Duruji and a Colin Castleton post up fouled out Virginia Tech’s starting front court of Keve Aluma and Justyn Mutts, giving Florida a key advantage at those positions. Then, Tre Mann took over hitting a pair of dagger jump shots off the dribble giving Florida the win. This was a tight matchup where Florida trailed for most of the game, and ultimately their superior talent and shot making won the day. Florida over Virginia Tech, 75-70.
Stepping Up
Colin Castleton had a quiet first half with 4 points but he turned it on in the second and overtime finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. A number of his buckets were massive post up finishes in the second half when Florida desperately needed a bucket and he also had the big overtime move that fouled out Justyn Mutts. Seemingly every one of his rebounds, points, and blocks were at key moments and he solidified himself as a big game player who lives for the moment.
The Finisher
When you think of history’s biggest shots in the NCAA Tournament, many of them are off the dribble. All season Tre Mann has been one of the best shooters off the dribble in the country and it only makes sense this skill would come through for Florida when they desperately needed it, nailing big-time jumpers in the second half to get the Gators back in the game and hitting the dagger in overtime to stretch the lead to a point where Virginia Tech couldn’t get back in the game.
Showing Up
Defense hasn’t been a strength of the Gators this season but you wouldn’t have known that based on how they played against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are a fantastic offensive team but the Gators had one of their best defensive performances of the season, getting down in a stance and making it difficult for Virginia Tech to run their tremendous offensive actions. Their perimeter players stepped up in a huge way and if there ever was penetration, Colin Castleton was there to clean things up. Mike White had been pleading for his guys to play at a high defensive level all season and ultimately they came through when it counted.
Things To Work On
While Florida was able to get the win, there were some tough moments from an execution standpoint. They failed to inbound the ball at the end of the second half and incurring a 5-second turnover, and on the last play of the game their transition defense following Anthony Duruji’s two missed free throws was abysmal and that allowed Nahiem Alleyne (who was outstanding with 28 points) to walk into a wide open three to win the game. Of course the Gators were still able to get the win, but a couple of huge execution errors almost gave the game away.
What’s Next
Florida will now play the winner of #2 Ohio State and #15 Oral Roberts. Ohio State is, of course, the heavy favorite, but they’ll be without a key player in Kyle Young. Oral Roberts also has Max Abmas, the statistically best scorer in the country, so this game could be frisky.