When Florida Basketball takes the court on Friday in Raleigh against Norfolk State, the Gators are going to be 28.5 point favorites. As we chronicled earlier today, the Spartans are going to have a tough time controlling the glass against Florida and don't have the shooters to burn the Gators from downtown.
And while Norfolk State is coming in with the intention of giving everything they have to give, they are well aware of the long odds stacked against them.
Florida Basketball: No Fairy Tales
Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones appeared on ESPN Radio on Wednesday and gave a breakdown of his program. He highlighted that he felt the Spartans are underseeded given that his program does have a win over a top 100 NET squad (High Point).
He also highlighted his program's ability to defend, and when asked point blank whether or not Norfolk State could be the Gators, Jones responded with, "We can beat anyone. The way the game is played now, you got high-major kids that play mid-major and you got mid-major kids that play high-major. The talent level is not so distinct anymore."
But even Jones knows his program is up against a juggernaut on Friday, and when signing off for the interview and told good luck against Florida, Jones responded with "Thank you, and say a prayer for me."
Even though there have been a couple of 16 seeds to break through and win over the past couple of years, the largest upset by point spread in NCAA Tournament history is when FDU beat Purdue while 23.5 point underdogs. Coincidently, that beat the previous record of 21.5 points when Norfolk State beat Missouri (only to turn around and get crushed by Florida).
Again, this point spread is 28.5 points. It's a huge number, but Florida does have four wins this year by at least 30 points.
A miracle of miracles indeed would be needed for Florida to bow out on Friday.