Florida Gators vs Albany Great Danes: Journey to the Final Four Begins

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It’s another year for the Florida Gators men’s basketball team, and another appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. This year, as in 2007, Florida’s journey begins as the top-overall seed in the tournament with the same goal in sight: Cut down the nets in the championship game. The Gators certainly have had a dream season, winning 32 of 34 games, compiling a 21-0 record against the SEC, and riding a UF-record 26-game winning streak. But they’ll have to get six more wins to achieve their ultimate goal and it starts Thursday against the Albany Great Danes.

Coming off of their first SEC Tournament title since 2007, the Gators are hitting all cylinders at the right time. But let’s be honest. They really haven’t sputtered at all this season, having not lost since December 2nd at UConn. In fact, Florida hasn’t lost a game while at full strength all season. Wilbekin was suspended for the first five games, including the Wisconsin loss and hurt his ankle with 3 minutes to go in that UConn game that backup point guard Kasey Hill missed. Florida has been at full strength for four months now and everybody else has had to deal with that.

When Florida set out this season in November the goal was to get past the Elite 8, where they lost the previous three years. Now it seems the national championship is within reach. A win Thursday against Albany would take them one step closer. Although a 16-seed has never beaten a one-seed, Florida still needs to focus on the game versus Albany.

The America East champion Albany Great Danes head into their matchup with Florida at 19-14.  They’ve already gotten the monkey off their back by beating Mt. St. Mary’s 71-64 in the tournament’s First Round, their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Albany plays a somewhat similar game to Florida in that their defense carries them. The Great Danes ranked 39th in points allowed with 63.8 per game. The big difference is their roster doesn’t have the size, speed, or talent the Gators do. They do have a couple of playmakers Florida will have to keep a lid on to avoid being embarrassed.

Senior guard DJ Evans was huge in Albany’s win over Mt. St. Mary’s, hitting big shots and handling pressure well. Evans scored 22 points with 9 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Great Danes. Evans averages 11.5 points, good for second on the team, 3.3 boards, 2.8 dimes, and 1.4 steals per game. Albany’s leader is Peter Hooley at 15.8 points per game. The Great Danes spread the ball around, having four players averaging double-digits. Sam Rowley (11.4 ppg) and Gary Johnson (11.0 ppg) join Hooley and Evans.

Florida definitely has the defense to keep them contained and the firepower to put the game out of reach early. We’ll see if this game can get Casey Prather out of his mini-funk and if the bench can get going. During the three games in the SEC Tournament, the bench was almost non-existent, something not typical of this Gators team. Hopefully an inferior opponent on paper will help them get back on track. UF needs only four more wins to set the record for wins in a season and the senior class needs three to be the winningest of all-time at Florida. Hopefully this game will get them one step closer.

In their only previous meeting, Florida defeated Albany 84-64 in the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic in 2005. Some familiar names were on that squad. Corey Brewer won the regional MVP after scoring a career-high 18 points in two games. Joakim Noah, Lee Humphrey, and Chris Richard also had career nights scoring. Noah had 17 points, Humphrey had 15 points, and Richard had 14 points off the bench. Hopefully that reflection will trigger some emotions for you. And we all know what the final result of that 2005-06 season was.

Florida will likely start their four seniors: forward Casey Prather, guard Scottie Wilbekin, foward Will Yeguete, and center Patric Young, with sophomore Michael Frazier II at guard. Albany’s probable starters are senior guard DJ Evans, sophomore guard Peter Hooley, senior forward Gary Johnson, freshman forward Sam Rowley, and senior center John Puk (cousin to Florida baseball freshman LHP/1B AJ Puk).

Tip-off is set for 4:10 pm following the conclusion of 8-seed Pittsburgh and 9-seed Colorado at the Amway Center in Orlando. TV coverage will be on TBS, or streaming at March Madness Live. If you can only listen to the game, you can check it out on the Gator IMG Sports Network, XM 192, Sirius 93, or streaming on Country 103.7 The Gator and Westwood One Sports.

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