Florida Men’s Basketball 2019 NCAA Tournament Capsule

March 10, 2019 · CSM Staff
 

Florida Gators

SEC (19-15, 9-9)

 
Florida has had a very interesting season. At one point the Gators were 12-11 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. Their NCAA Tournament hopes were all but gone. However, they still had a respectable RPI and were a decent run away from becoming a serious contender for their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. And they got that run starting on February 13th when they pulled off five wins in a row, including a huge overtime victory at LSU.
 
Big Wins: 1/30 Mississippi (90-86), 2/16 at Alabama (71-53), 2/20 at LSU (82-77)
Bad Losses: 11/23 vs Butler (54-61), 1/5 South Carolina (69-71), 3/2 Georgia (55-61)
Coach: Michael White
 
Why They Can Surprise:
This is a pretty young Florida team that plays solid defense and takes care of the basketball and nearly always wins the turnover battle. As those younger players like freshmen Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke and Keyontae Johnson keep improving, this is a Gators squad that can do some damage in the postseason. Nembhard is a big 6-5 point guard who averages 8.1 points and 5.3 assists. Locke is the team’s most prolific and consistent outside shooter and it will be key for Florida that Locke knocks down some shots.
 
Why They Can Disappoint:
Johnson joins senior Kevarrius Hayes to form a decent frontcourt when it comes to scoring and Hayes does a lot of work blocking shots too. However, this is not a strong group on the glass. They can very easily lose all of those extra possessions they get by winning the turnover battle on the glass. And this is not a Florida team that has the offensive firepower to keep up with most teams and they need all the extra possessions they can get.
 
Probable Starters:
Andrew Nembhard, Freshman, Guard, 8.1 ppg, 5.3 apg
KeVaughn Allen, Senior, Guard, 12.0 ppg, 2.0 apg
Noah Locke, Freshman, Guard, 9.6 ppg
Keyontae Johnson, Freshman, Forward, 8.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Kevarrius Hayes, Senior, Center, 8.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg
 
Key Role Players:
Jalen Hudson, Senior, Guard, 9.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Deaundrae Ballard, Sophomore, Guard, 4.6 ppg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.3 (281st in nation, 13th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.7 (21, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.3 (280, 12)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.2 (83, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.2 (121, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.4 (231, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.1 (123, 5)
Rebound Margin: -1.3 (239, 13)
Assists Per Game: 12.3 (265, 11)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.6 (59, 2)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2018 NCAA Round of 64 win over St. Bonaventure
2018 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Texas Tech
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over East Tennessee State
2017 NCAA Round of 32 win over Virginia
2017 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Wisconsin
2017 NCAA Regional Final loss to South Carolina
2016 NIT First Round win over North Florida
2016 NIT Second Round win over Ohio State
2016 NIT Quarterfinal loss to George Washington
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Albany
2014 NCAA Round of 32 win over Pittsburgh
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over UCLA
2014 NCAA Regional Final win over Dayton
2014 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Connecticut
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Northwestern State
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Minnesota
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Florida Gulf Coast
2013 NCAA Regional Final loss to Michigan
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Virginia
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Norfolk State
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Marquette
2012 NCAA Regional Final loss to Louisville
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over UC-Santa Barbara
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over UCLA
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over BYU
2011 NCAA Regional Final loss to Butler
2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to BYU
2009 NIT First Round win over Jacksonville
2009 NIT Second Round win over Miami
2009 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Penn State
2008 NIT First Round win over San Diego State
2008 NIT Second Round win over Creighton
2008 NIT Quarterfinal win over Arizona State
2008 NIT Semifinal loss to Massachusetts
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Jackson State
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Butler
2007 NCAA National Semifinal win over UCLA
2007 NCAA National Final win over Ohio State
2007 NCAA Regional Final win over Oregon
 
*all team stats through 3/10