Gators vs. Norfolk State: Should we call this dueling underdogs?
Dueling underdogs. Perhaps that’s what we should label tonight’s first round NCAA West Regional matchup between the top seeded Florida and 16th-seeded Norfolk State (6:50 p.m.., TNT). One of the underdogs is a matter of a sales job by the head coach. That’s the Gators (30-4), the nation’s 3rd-ranked team and SEC Tournament champs. Todd Golden has spent the last three months trying to convince us the Gators must be underdogs because there isn’t a single 5-star recruit on the roster.
Norfolk State coach Robert Jones can relate. He would absolutely love for a 5-star recruit to give Norfolk State a sniff, but he coaches in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a league that survives with players overlooked by power conferences and mid-majors alike. The greatest players in league history are Bobby Dandridge (Norfolk State) and Marvin Webster (Morgan State), but both played in the league more than 50 years ago. The last great player at Nortfolk State was Robert Quinn, who led the Spartans to an upset win over Missouri in the NCAA first round in 2012. Two nights later, Quinn and the Spartans hit an iceberg named Florida and like the Titanic, sunk to the bottom of the NCAA Tournament ocean.
You can’t blame Golden for calling the Gators underdogs. They started the season No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and have moved all the way up to No. 3. Despite a 5-1 record against the top teams in the Southeastern conference (4 on the road) as well as wins over two teams ranked No. 1 (Tennessee and Auburn) it wasn’t until they blew by Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee to win the SEC Tournament that many of the nation’s experts grudgingly admitted Florida is for real.
Golden calls that disrespect and when he combines that with the lack of 5-star recruits on his roster, it becomes this gigantic chip that he hopes to keep squarely on the Gators’ shoulders.
Meanwhile, Robert Jones would like very much to discuss disrespect. The Spartans have won 24 games, won the MEAC title and they’ve played tough against some NCAA Tournament teams such as Grand Canyon, Baylor and Tennessee. They beat NCAA Tournament teams High Point and Alabama State.
Norfolk State is a very good basketball team, but the Spartans are 28.5-point underdogs to the Gators. That does more than just irritate Jones.
“I coach better when I'm angry, and I'm angry a little bit about the way the point spread is and things like that,” Jones said. “I know Florida's really, really good, and they run a great program, got great players, but are we that bad that the point spread is like that? I'm a little angry, and like I said, I'm a little bit more focused and play better when I'm angry. I think the players play better when they're angry.”
Norfolk State is angry because it feels disrespected. Todd Golden has been selling the disrespect card all season and it was working well until the Three Days of the Gator in Nashville. Golden had a right to feel disrespected most of the season when no matter what the Gators did, the media always perceived Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee the better teams.
The media was forced to change its mind after what the Gators did at the SEC Tournament.
“We went into Nashville still feeling like we had a lot to prove and that we maybe weren't getting the respect nationally that we deserved,” Golden said. “After three great games in three days there, it's flipped, and now we have a different challenge ahead of us, and that's handling success. Being in the eye of the media and having people talk about us ... ESPN, their four media guys, all selected us to win the National Championship Sunday afternoon after we won the SEC Tournament.
“The talk of our team has been we have to do everything we can to stay consistent, to stay humble, and not allow all the just excitement around our program take away from what's made us who we are this year, which is a tough team that plays with an edge.”
The Gators will need the edge against Norfolk State. Even though the Spartans are from the MEAC and unranked, Florida needs to forget the hype and play with that chip on their shoulders.
Norfolk State doesn’t seem to think any of that matters.
“I think tomorrow the guys are excited about the challenge,” Jones said. “No one in that locker room is scared. No one in that locker room is afraid. We're excited about the challenge of playing the University of Florida.”
Anticipated starting lineups
1 FLORIDA (30-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)
16 NORFOLK STATE (24-9): Jalen Myers (6-8, 200, SR); Kuluei Mading (6-11, 210, SR); Jaylani Darden (6-5, 175, SR); Chrisian Ings (6-2, 180, SR); Brian Moore (6-2, 185, SR)
SEC BASKETBALL
Thursday’s scores
South Regional
1 Auburn (29-5) 83, 16 Alabama State (20-16) 63
4 Texas A&M (23-10) 80, 13 Yale (22-8) 71
West Regional
11 Drake (31-3) 67, 6 Missouri (22-12) 57
10 Arkansas (21-13) 79, 7 Kansas (21-13) 72
Midwest Regional
2 Tennessee (28-7) 77, 15 Wofford (19-16) 62
8 Gonzaga (26-8) 89, 9 Georgia (20-13) 68
Friday’s games
West Regional
16 Norfolk State (24-10) vs. 1 FLORIDA (30-4); Raleigh
9 Oklahoma (20-13) vs. 8 UConn (24-9); Raleigh
East Regional
15 Robert Morris (26-8) vs. 2 Alabama (25-8)
9 Baylor (19-14) vs. 8 Mississippi State (22-12); Raleigh
10 Vanderbilt (20-12) vs. 7 Saint Mary’s (28-5); Cleveland
South Regional
11 North Carolina (23-13) vs. 6 Ole Miss (22-11); Milwaukee
Midwest Regional
14 Troy (23-10) vs. 3 Kentucky (22-11); Milwaukee
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