Florida Gators: 24-8, 14-4 in the SEC
Head coach: Michael White (2nd season)
Players to watch: KeVaughn Allen (13.9 PPG, 39.9 3PT%); Canyon Barry (12.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG); Kasey Hill (9.8 PPG, 4.6 APG, 1.7 SPG)
Season recap: After losing three of its first 10 games to start the season—including a 10-point loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden—and being unranked until the final poll of December, Florida dropped just four of its final 21 regular-season contests to steadily climb as high as No. 12 in the rankings before finishing the regular season at No. 17.
The Gators are just 1-4 against ranked opponents this season, though, and have shown little ability to perform in pressure situations without their anchor inside. Center John Egbunu, who averaged 1.5 blocks per game, tore his ACL Feb. 15 less than two weeks after Florida thrashed Kentucky 88-66.
In large part because of Egbunu's injury, Florida carries little momentum into the NCAA tournament, dropping two of its final three games of the season to then-No. 11 Kentucky and Vanderbilt before being upset by the Commodores yet again in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.
Florida does still have some strength in numbers, though, featuring nine players who average at least 12 minutes per game—which could serve as a major advantage if head coach Mike White's team makes a deep run in the tournament and plays games in quick succession.
How they make a run: Even without Egbunu, the Gators lean on their tough perimeter defense that holds opponents to 40.8 percent shooting and 30.7 percent from long range and get clutch plays from guards Kasey Hill and KeVaughn Allen to make a surprise Final Four run.
How they falter: Allen goes cold from long range and Florida does not have enough offense around him to avoid an early-round upset.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.