The Florida basketball program is among the most accomplished in the sport this century. Its three national titles over that span are tied with Duke and North Carolina for second-most behind UConn.
And yet, this season’s Gators, led by coach Todd Golden, accomplished something never before done in program history: They earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season.
Florida (26-7) formally begins its national championship defense Friday evening as the top seed in the South Region when it faces No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M in Tampa, Fla.
“It says a lot about our staff, our players, and what they’ve been able to accomplish over the past couple years. Florida basketball is really healthy right now,” Golden said of the accomplishment. “We have great players in our program. I have an incredible staff that’s been working with us here to keep it at this level.”
The Gators are coming off their first loss in nearly two months in the Southeastern Conference semifinals. Florida trailed Vanderbilt by 13 at half and was largely uncompetitive in a 91-74 loss.
It was Florida’s first setback since a 76-67 loss to Auburn on Jan. 24.
“I do think when you do lose, you can really drill down on some areas that you need to improve on,” Golden said this week. ” … (A loss) can help. We’re going to definitely learn from it. We’re gonna use it to our advantage for sure, but I’m never gonna be like, ‘Oh, man, I’m glad we lost.'”
At the other end of the postseason experience spectrum, Prairie View A&M (19-17) made history Wednesday in the First Four when it secured the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, 67-55 over Lehigh.
It’s a major milestone in a remarkable one-year turnaround from last year’s Panthers squad, which had a 5-27 record.
“I tell our kids all the time when you live right, you do the right things, you become an everyday guy, good things are going to happen for you,” Prairie View A&M coach Byron Smith said.
Dontae Horne — one of three Prairie View A&M starters who played the full 40 minutes vs. Lehigh — led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals. He scored 16 of his points after halftime, when the Panthers rallied from a two-point halftime deficit, and has racked up 25-plus points in five of his last six games, boosting his team-high 20.3 points per game.
“I would have never thought I’d be playing Florida. I would have never thought I’d be in March,” Horne said. “But we’re here now, so it’s like, keep going.”
While Florida lost its top three scorers off last year’s championship squad, it returned three experienced bigs in Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. That trio of 6-foot-9 or taller players is the leading reason why the Gators lead the country in total rebounds (45.4 per game), offensive rebounds (16.1) and rebounding differential (plus-14.5).
Considering the Panthers’ tallest player who plays at least seven minutes a game is 6-foot-9, Chinyelu, in particular, presents a problem with his 11.5 rebounds per game, most of any player in the NCAA Tournament.
Prairie View A&M was able to put some points on the scoreboard against SEC teams this season, taking a 104-90 loss at LSU followed by a 111-82 defeat at Texas A&M in December.
