gators chomped

I sorta wish I hadn't completely used up my supply of grandiose praise for Brandon Waddell last weekend, because - uh.  Going into the "bracket" games in Omaha - the second round, that is - here's how many runs each CWS team had scored up to that point:

Florida: 68
TCU: 68
Vanderbilt: 57
Miami: 51
Arkansas: 44
Virginia: 38
Fullerton: 35
LSU: 27

And Florida was one of only four teams to take the shortest path - the minimum six games and six wins to get to that point.  TCU needed the most games possible (nine), not the least, in order to tie with the Gators on that list.

Florida also won on Wednesday, rather easily.  Their run count in each game up to just now looks like this:

19, 8, 2, 13, 11, 15, BRANDON WADDELL, 10

Point: This is no small feat, what Waddell did to them.  Forget Miami, which got all the hype for their lineup and fizzled twice.  Florida has the best lineup in Omaha, and by logical extension, quite possibly the whole country.  Or if "best" is too subjective, certainly the most productive.

Was it just a bad day?  Hard to call it that, when they hadn't really proven themselves overly prone to them so far this postseason.  Waddell, a pitcher who specializes in - and requires - pinpoint location, had it in spades on Monday night.  He only struck out three hitters, which is four fewer than he did against Maryland.  But he pitched to a lot of successful contact.  Sabermetricians might point to BABIP and suggest some luck involved, which is why it's always important to put stats into context by actually watching the game.**  Only five Gators hit the ball into the outfield all day.

The pitching matchup was fascinating.  Waddell, the command and control artist, against Puk, the fireballing bazooka heaver.  Puk was effective in his own way, but he and command have yet to make each other's acquaintance.  That wasn't working on his third trip through the lineup and probably would've fallen completely to pieces on a fourth go-round.

Consider me impressed, blown away, absolutely smitten.  It took me a while to get here, I'll admit - Waddell's game has always seemed balanced on a ledge.  This year he was tipping right over, too, most of the season.  Two games have launched Waddell straight into the pantheon.  Very different games.  Both masterful pitching performances.

**I am not anti-sabermetrics.  Sabermetrics are fantastic.  I just think they augment rather than replace the good old-fashioned techniques.

***********************************************

-- I don't want to discount Josh Sborz, who accounted for two of the nine shutout innings after all.  Particularly the eighth, in which he escaped a two-on-none-out jam with catlike reflexes on one batter and unhittable stuff on the next five.  On that first out, there's so much that could've gone wrong.  First, the ball was just plain launched - dude could've been hurt.  If he'd deflected it wrong, like with the tip of his glove and off into foul territory, the run might've scored.  If he'd missed it, Ernie Clement was positioned almost up the middle and could've had a shot at a double play (if he'd made what would've had to be a pretty slick backhand stab) - but the run would've scored.  Then Sborz had to make a throw to the most dangerous base without his glove on - and it sounds stupid but that's a really distracting situation.  Randomly put a three-pound weight on, say, Peyton Manning's off hand in the middle of a play - he'd be suddenly haywire.  It's no different suddenly losing the same weight, if it's a familiar one.

-- Should BOC have sent Sborz in earlier?  Like at the beginning of the eighth, or at least after Waddell walked the first hitter?  Uh, no.  Keep in mind - Waddell was basically no-hitting these dudes.  Their one hit was a nubby little dribbler that in retrospect I'm glad happened because the added distraction of pitching an actual no-hitter would've been at best an unnecessary distraction.  Pull a dominant pitcher before he shows any signs of being less than dominant?  No reason to.

-- Florida will send Logan Shore back to the mound on Friday.  Shore beat Miami in the opener, but he wasn't sharp, and set the tone for his not-sharpness by thwacking the first batter.  And as is common knowledge by now, Nathan Kirby makes his long-awaited re-debut.  I really thought he'd stay in the pen, but the logic in this makes perfect sense: we don't know whether he'll be awesome or unbelievably rusty, and really, neither do the coaches.  If the former, Jones and Waddell line up to pitch the first two games of the finals.  If the latter, BOC can still choose between those two for the Florida re-rematch on Saturday.

game preview: Florida

Date/Time: Monday, June 15; 8:00

TV: ESPN2

Record against the Gators: 1-4

Last meeting: UF 18, UVA 0; 3/9/89, Gainesville

Last game: UVA 5, UA 3 (6/13); UF 15, Mia. 3 (6/13)

Pitching probables:

Virginia: LHP Brandon Waddell (3-5, 4.15, 81 Ks)
Florida: LHP A.J. Puk (9-3, 3.96, 99 Ks)

Opening day in Omaha produced two storylines: UVA going all Ocean's 11 on the basepaths, and Florida dropping 11 on Miami in the fourth inning.   So the ACC and SEC will go another two rounds on Monday, with the ACC's 7th-place team in the Omaha winner's bracket.

Last week, the Washington Post's article on the win over Maryland started off with a great first paragraph:

As Virginia freshman Ernie Clement walked to the plate, the arc of the Cavaliers’ baseball season perfectly aligned with this moment. Virginia had struggled early, stayed within reach and now seemed poised for a dramatic rally.

The Arkansas game was even more such a microcosm, with all five UVA runs scored with two outs.  Matter of fact, until the 9th, every UVA leadoff hitter failed to get on base.  Connor Jones wasn't at his sharpest.  Adversity schmadversity; UVA merely smacked around yet another closer in the eighth and ninth innings and then once again gave Josh Sborz the ball and watched him grind opposing hitters into dust.  Thus the Omahoos/Omahogs matchup went to the good guys.

And of course, the running.  BOC was his usual self in the press conferences, because he's too nice to say "we noticed Tucker Pennell has a tendency to miss the target by six feet."  But that's pretty much what happened.  As soon as the coaches got a feel for when Trey Killian was going to throw a breaking ball, off went the runners.  They stole themselves out of a couple innings when Pennell made an accurate throw, but you don't even mind that.  Two strikes, two outs is a great time to give it a shot and if you get thrown out, oh well - your batter gets a fresh count next inning.

Up to this point, UVA has played some good teams.  USC, Maryland, Arkansas, not too shabby.  You can't win the CWS by only ever beating regional 2 seeds, though.  Florida is one of the top teams in the country - SEC champs, national 4 seed, and the pick of many to win the whole thing.  To the extent you can call playing any team in the tournament a "honeymoon," that part's over.  Florida's as good as any team in Omaha.  Waddell pitched a marvelous game last time out, against Maryland, but he won't be able to get away with putting dudes on base as much this time.  Florida's lineup is as so:

-- Catcher: J.J. Schwarz (.335-18-73): Mike Rivera had the catching duties last night, but Schwarz is usually behind the plate when Puk pitches.  Schwarz is a terrific hitter, nearly as good as Andrew Benintendi, but has only thrown out four of 23 basestealers this season.  That stat and UVA's sudden running game may spook Kevin O'Sullivan into putting Rivera back there again, but coaches don't like to screw with their rotations too much.

-- First base: Peter Alonso (.305-3-28): Looks like a cricket player because of the mask he wears to protect his face.  Alonso is a good hitter whose extrapolated stats are excellent; the mask is necessary because of a broken jaw earlier in the year.  The fact that he hits sixth is a testament to the deep Gator lineup, and he flashed a great glove on Saturday with a diving stab of a Miami line drive otherwise destined for the corner.

-- Second base: Dalton Guthrie (.294-2-25): Yes, the Gators have a .294 hitter batting ninth.  OK, eighth on Saturday.

-- Third base: Josh Tobias (.370-5-44): A 10th-round pick of the Phillies, Tobias probably should've gone higher.  The toughest out in the lineup with a .446 OBP, Tobias has some power as well, and has committed one error all year at the hot corner (as well as playing some second base.)

-- Shortstop: Richie Martin (.287-5-33): Martin's stats aren't much to look at, but the A's made him the 20th overall pick of the draft.  Weirdly, he's hit better in wood-bat summer leagues than in college.

-- Left field: Harrison Bader (.289-15-62): Bader is Florida's leadoff hitter, a bit odd as he's more of a traditional power hitter with high slugging and high strikeout totals - you would probably peg him as the cleanup or fifth hitter, normally.  Still, it's doubtful he'd have been a 3rd-round pick without some speed, and the big-league scouts think he has a chance to play center in the pros.

-- Center field: Buddy Reed (.316-3-44): Fast player who represents one of the Gators' two biggest steal threats on a team that likes to do that.

-- Right field: Ryan Larson (.308-1-24): The Gators platoon this position between Larson and Jeremy Vasquez; since they'll face a lefty on the hill, the right-handed Larson probably gets the call.  Vasquez is the better hitter and could pinch-hit somewhere, but Larson batted 9th on Saturday and hits .308 - again, you could do much, much worse.

-- Designated hitter: Mike Rivera (.267-3-45): If there's such a thing as a respite in the Florida lineup, it's here; Rivera's a freshman whose bat is a little less frightening than the rest of the bunch.  If Rivera is catching, Schwarz will DH instead.

-- Starting pitcher: A.J. Puk (9-3, 3.96, 99 Ks): With a .211 OBA, Puk's high ERA is a function of control.  Puk is a rarity - a huge, power-throwing left-hander, a trait that will get him drafted in the first round when he's eligible next year.  Coming out of high school, he was already throwing in the low 90s, and his powerful, well-located fastball has only improved since.  He's at his best when blowing his fastball by hitters and controlling his change-up.  A post-high-school scouting report, though, basically said "his curve stinks and will always stink."  Take that with a grain of salt.  The same writer said he was a 70% chance to sign despite being picked in the 36th round.  High schoolers headed to the SEC and taken in the 36th round would have to be so stupid to sign that no organization would want them.  Still, Puk's fastball is excellent, and references to his control are basically allusions to his breaking pitches.  UVA's chances depend on whether they can find and catch up to Puk's fastball; if not, it won't really matter if his off-speed stuff can't find the strike zone.

-- Bullpen: Miami did the Hoos no favors; the Gators will have their full arsenal ready to go.  Neither closer Taylor Lewis (6-1, 1.89, 33 Ks) nor top long reliever Bobby Poyner (5-2, 2.73, 56 Ks) pitched against the Canes.  Even if they had, the pitchers they did use only went an inning apiece and will all be available.  Florida has a very deep bullpen, and most of them were drafted; even if Puk is knocked out early, using it up is not in play.

****************************************

Nothing's changed.  As with before, it comes down to if Brandon Waddell can work deep into the game.  It's just, that'll be a lot harder than in the past.  UVA will be a major underdog here.  Not for the first time, but not yet by so much.

It's doable, though.  Puk has a powerful arm, but it can sometimes be a loose cannon.  Waddell is battle-tested through and through, and the team has the right attitude for Omaha.  They have the easy confidence that comes with experience and comfort in the environment.  And Florida used up all its runs against Miami.  (OK, that last thing is not a thing.)

UVA's storyline diverges here.  This game means almost everything.  The winner gets four days to rest its pitchers and needs only win one more to get to the finals.  The loser has to win three.  Connor Jones can go again on Friday, but if UVA has to play on Wednesday they'll be digging deep, and may not have the arms to win on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

In other words, a loss means the story goes like this: UVA scrapped and battled and put together a really nice improbable run, but unsurprisingly ran out of juice at the end.  Good game, see you next year.  A win, though, and UVA starts to look like the Michigan State of baseball: doesn't matter what happened in the regular season, just get Brian O'Connor into the tournament and watch how hard it is to kick him out of it.

game preview: Florida

Date/Time: Friday, March 16; 2:10

TV: TNT

Record against the Gators: 1-0

Last matchup: UVA 62, UF 56; 3/30/92; New York City (1992 NIT semifinals)

Last game: NCSt. 67, UVA 64 (3/9); UK 74, UF 71 (3/10)

Opposing blogs: Alligator Army

KenPom breakdown:

Tempo:
UVA: 60.4 (#339)
UF: 64.9 (#234)

Offense:
UVA: 104.8 (#104)
UF: 120.8 (#2)

Defense:
UVA: 87.0 (#5)
UF: 98.5 (#121)

Pythag:
UVA: .8706 (#26)
UF: .8898 (#19)

Projected starting lineups:

Virginia:

PG: Jontel Evans (7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.8 apg)
SG: Sammy Zeglinski (8.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg)
SF: Joe Harris (11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.8 apg)
PF: Mike Scott (18.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.2 apg)
F: Akil Mitchell (4.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)

Florida:

PG: Erving Walker (12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.7 apg)
SG: Kenny Boynton (16.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.5 apg)
SF: Bradley Beal (14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
PF: Erik Murphy (10.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.9 apg)
C: Patric Young (10.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.2 apg)

This is the part where normally I rattle on about What This Means, but it's the NCAA tournament - and the first tournament game in the history of this blog - so you already know most of it.  Do we really, in our heart of hearts, expect to make a tournament run to the Final Four?  No.  Injuries and other forms of attrition have ravaged this team to the point where its competitiveness has been sapped to exhaustion.  The fact that anyone even gives them a chance against this, one of the elite offensive teams in the country, is a testament to their resilience.

Getting a win here wouldn't necessarily make this team any more likely to win the whole shebang.  Mathematically, sure; realistically, no.  But it would leave a very positive taste in everyone's mouth.  Lose here and the season's legacy is a massive, galactical what-could've-been.  But a win would give these guys the signature victory they could never quite achieve in ACC play, and allow a warm, fuzzy glow to settle on the offseason.

-- UVA on offense

For a couple different reasons, this game could be quite a bit higher-scoring than we're used to.  One of them is that Florida will probably let us get away with it.  According to KenPom, Florida is a worse defensive team than Georgia Tech, one of only two ACC games in which we scored 70+ points.

Florida is also undersized.  Their guards don't come any bigger than 6'3", and point guard Erving Walker is only 5'8".  Nobody is taller than 6'10", and that player, Erik Murphy, is not an inside banger at the four.  Patric Young, at center, is a beefy 6'9", and will probably be Mike Scott's primary defender.  Nobody on Florida is going to be that long, athletic type that can give the Hoos problems on the perimeter; this is how teams like UNC and FSU limited our offense.

Open shots should be available; the question is making them.  Joe Harris will likely be guarded by Bradley Beal, who is worlds more athletic than Harris, but three inches shorter.  Sammy Zeglinski should also be able to find room against the unaggressive Kenny Boynton.  With Will Yeguete out, the Gators are missing likely their best defensive weapon.

When it comes to fouls, only Young is especially prone to them, unless you count bit player Casey Prather, who will foul when he's in the game, which is rarely.  Mike Scott's veteran wiles may very well find a way to relegate Young to the bench early.  If that happens, maybe we see more of Prather who in turn will also foul more creating a vicious cycle etc. etc.  Best-case scenario.  Florida's guards, however, foul very rarely, so it's only in the frontcourt where free-throw opportunities can reliably be found.

Ultimately, I expect the Hoos to find room to work, a luxury they haven't had against the better teams in the ACC.  They must knock down shots.  A shooting duel will inevitably turn out badly, because the Gators will knock down shots, so the Hoos have got to hit the available ones.

-- UVA on defense

This is the real strength-on-strength matchup: KenPom's #2 offensive team vs. his #5 defensive one.  People tend to assume Florida likes to play an up-tempo, fast-paced game, but that's not the case; they're just really, really efficient.

Their two frontcourt starters are probably underused in this regard.  Erik Murphy is a stretch-the-floor four, and I expect Akil Mitchell to guard him; Mitchell's athleticism will be an asset in chasing him around the court.  Murphy is an excellent three-point shooter.  Patric Young is a big, beefy guy, excellent on the interior, and better than a 60% shooter.

Florida has excellent scoring balance.  There's no one player you can key on.  Point guard Erving Walker has a minimal hand in running the offense, relative to the typical point guard; he does lead the team in assists, but shutting him down doesn't necessarily mean shutting down the offense.  Bradley Beal and Kenny Boynton are just as adept at getting the ball to teammates.

Even so, hopefully Jontel Evans can handle Walker.  He's managed to lay a smackdown on diminutive point guards before, but they still sometimes get the better of him.  Sammy Z's underrated defensive skills will be desperately needed on Boynton, a deadeye shot from three who doesn't turn the ball over.

The real matchup, though, is system vs. system.  It's the pack-line vs. Florida's three-bombing.  If the defenders can close out on shooters and still deny the interior, Florida will have a long day.  If not, it'll rain up in heah.  This just isn't the kind of team you can allow to shoot and cross your fingers, because if one guy goes cold, the next guy won't.

-- Outlook
In 1992, the Hoos were NIT champions.  Florida was the semifinal opponent before Bryant Stith, Junior Burrough, Cory Alexander, and company moved on to defeat Notre Dame and claim a banner.  The Gators had something called a "Svein Dyrkolbotn" on the roster.

That was almost 20 years ago; these two teams haven't met since.  The tables are turned now; the deeper, more talented roster belongs to Florida.  Let's hope the outcome isn't the same.  A lot of focus has been on UVA's uninspiring results down the stretch (it's not like we've played worse - obnoxiously, no nod is ever given to the fact that the team is a walking ICU) but the truth is that, given space to work on offense, UVA has responded.  That'll be the case here.  Win or lose, expect a big game from Mike Scott, who surely will be feeling the mortality of his college career breathing down his neck.  I think, with some trepidation but I think, that the Hoos will live to play another day.

-- Final score: UVA 68, UF 64

chomping at the bit

It must be a law that all Peruvian cities have a square named Plaza de Armas; every town we visited had one.  Here is Lima's, the location of the founding of the city.

So, Florida.  It so happens that this weekend's opponent on the diamond is Florida State, so don't be surprised if Gators fans and Noles fans are both telling you "hey, good luck on Friday in that other sport."

This is our bowl game, essentially.  We don't get three weeks to prepare like for the one in football, so today is your prep day as we learn about each of the Florida Gators, one by one.  They're listed, more or less, in order from most to least dangerous:

#1 - Kenny Boynton - Shooting guard

Size: 6'2, 189

Year: Junior

Statistics: 16.3 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.4 rpg

Shooting %: .448

3-point %: .427

FT %: .750

O-rating: 124.0

Best game: Rider, 12/9: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, 0 fouls, 9-13 shooting, 5-9 threes

Best game (SEC only): South Carolina, 2/2: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 6-13 shooting, 4-8 threes

Worst game: Kentucky, 3/10: 2 points, 4 assists, 1-9 shooting, 0-4 threes

Boynton is a legitimate star.  He's always been a bomber from three - never has shot fewer than 242 of them in a season - but this year, he's hitting.  A lot.  He's become a much more efficient player this year as a junior, scoring more points in fewer shots than in years past, and he also takes very good care of the ball, at barely over one turnover per game and an 11.3% rate, good for 62nd in the country.  On defense, he simply doesn't foul; at 1.3 fouls per 40 minutes, he's the 12th best in the country at that.  On the other hand, he also doesn't get a lot of steals; his stats have the profile of a guy who prefers not to take many risks and simply to sit back and deny the driver.  That should be OK by our offense, as Sammy Zeglinski, his likely assignment, isn't exactly a slasher.  Boynton's size won't give Sammy much trouble either.

That said, on the other end, you have to game plan to stop Boynton.  His teammates are good scorers too, so you must strike a balance between what you commit to Boynton and what you commit to everyone else, but come clutch time, this is the guy they're looking for.  A true, efficient threat.

#23 - Bradley Beal - Shooting guard

Size: 6'3", 207

Year: Freshman

Statistics: 14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.2 apg

Shooting %: .428

3-point %: .329

Free throw %: .775

O-rating: 110.4

Best game: Stetson, 11/28: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 7-13 shooting, 5-9 threes

Best game (SEC only): Arkansas, 2/18: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6-8 shooting

Worst game: Kentucky, 3/4: 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1-10 shooting

Beal is a potential one-and-done player; ESPN's Chad Ford lists him as the sixth-best NBA prospect in the upcoming draft.  He's got some length that belies his height, and of course has a ton of athleticism.  Beal shoots only a little less often than Boynton does, but he doesn't hit his threes with anywhere near as much regularity.  His specialty is getting to the rim; Beal shoots better than 50% from inside the arc.

On defense, he will indeed block a couple shots.  He generally plays the three for Billy Donovan, and is a little undersized for it, but makes up for it with that athleticism.  And in that role, he does a lot of rebounding; in fact, he led the team in that department.  He'll probably be assigned Joe Harris on defense, and could surprise Harris with his athleticism.

#4 - Patric Young - Center

Size: 6'9", 247

Year: Sophomore

Statistics: 10.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.2 apg

Shooting %: .608

3-point %: N/A

Free throw %: .605

O-rating: 115.8

Best game: Arizona, 12/7: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 12-15 shooting

Best game (SEC only): Kentucky, 3/4: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 10-15 shooting

Worst game: Vanderbilt, 2/4: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls

Young is an extremely efficient shooter, with that .600+ shooting percentage, and a large body that may give UVA's skinny frontcourt a tough time.  His minutes, however, have been limited somewhat by a nagging ankle issue that held him out of the starting lineup at times (though he never missed a game) and by some foul trouble; Young fouled out of three games and got into foul trouble in eight more.

I think he'll need help on defense against Mike Scott.  Either that or he'll be the help; either way, Scott is the better player on that end.  We'll see about when Florida is on offense; Young's a good shooter, and has a chance to be the kind of guy that could get our bigs in foul trouble.  It'd be best if we could turn that around, because Young is sometimes prone to it.

#11 - Erving Walker - Point guard

Size: 5'8", 177

Year: Senior

Statistics: 12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.7 apg

Shooting %: .399

3-point %: .371

Free throw %: .813

O-rating: 115.7

Best game: Arkansas, 2/18: 31 points, 5 assists, 0 turnovers, 9-12 shooting, 5-6 threes

Best game (SEC only): same

Worst game: Kentucky, 2/7: 0 points, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 0-7 shooting

Walker is the Gators' point guard, but the team is balanced enough on offense that it doesn't necessarily always run through him.  He's a fairly efficient distributor, but a volume scorer with a shooting percentage a shade under .400.  He's also teeny-tiny.

The best comparison to someone we've seen this season is Clemson's Andre Young, and unfortunately, it's an inconclusive one.  Young had a terrible game in our first meeting and a pretty good one the second time out.  Also unfortunately, I don't think the Jontel Evans matchup with Walker is necessarily the crucial one, since Walker isn't necessarily the king of the offense all the time.  If Evans is shutting him down, Florida has other weapons.  That said, Evans is quick enough and big enough to be able to cause problems for Walker on our offensive end.  Walker doesn't foul a lot, but like Kenny Boynton he's not an aggressive defender.

#33 - Erik Murphy - Power forward

Size: 6'10", 230

Year: Junior

Statistics: 10.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.9 apg

Shooting %: .498

3-point %: .442

Free throw %: .795

O-rating: 119.8

Best game: Kentucky, 3/10: 24 points, 9-12 shooting, 4-4 threes

Best game (SEC only): same

Worst game: Georgia, 2/25: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1-6 shooting

Like Young, Murphy dealt with a few injury deals this year, missing three games with a bone bruise in his knee and a slightly torn meniscus.  It hasn't slowed him down lately, though.  Murphy is a scoring four who probably is underutilized.  He's got a great shooting touch for a 6'10" big guy, is a legitimate threat from three-point land, and can shoot free throws, too.  Murphy presents the kind of matchup troubles that coaches dream of.

However, his defense is average at best for his size.  Not a fearsome shot-blocker, and he leaves a lot of the rebounding to others as well.  It'll be interesting to see how the UVA coaches defend Murphy, probably with Akil Mitchell, but when we're on offense, he's not likely to be much more than a big body.

The Andes are so steep that the terrace farms of the Incas cannot support the same type of crops at the top of the hills as they do at the bottom.  The different microclimates don't allow it.



#15 - Will Yeguete - Forward

Size: 6'7", 222

Year: Sophomore

Statistics: 4.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 apg

Shooting %: .581

3-point %: N/A

Free throw %: .359

O-rating: 116.6

Best game: South Carolina, 1/14: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6-6 shooting, 0 turnovers

Best game (SEC only): same

Worst game: Tennessee, 1/7: 0 points, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls

I put this entry here only to let you know what Florida's missing; namely, their best defender.  Yeguete went down with a foot injury last month against Auburn and is out for the season.  Essentially, he was the Gators' sixth man, and an excellent rebounder.  His services will not be available on Friday; my heart bleeds for Gators fans.

#3 - Mike Rosario - Guard

Size: 6'3", 191

Year: RS Junior

Statistics: 6.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.0 apg

Shooting %: .417

3-point %: .348

Free throw %: .759

O-rating: 105.5

Best game: Jackson State, 11/11: 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 5-8 threes

Best game (SEC only): Vanderbilt, 2/4: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Worst game: Kentucky, 2/7: 3 points, 3 turnovers, 1-4 shooting

Rosario's effectiveness this season has been whittled down by a series of various injuries, the latest a hip pointer that cost him three games in February.  Since then, he's been nothing more than a body off the bench; the only time he was called on for significant minutes, he delivered a 1-6 shooting night.  Before the injuries he was a decent scoring option off the bench, but it hasn't been there of late.

#5 - Scottie Wilbekin - Guard

Size: 6'2", 178

Year: Sophomore

Statistics: 2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.7 apg

Shooting %: .418

3-point %: .450

Free throw %: .714

O-rating: 120.8

Best game: Alabama, 3/9: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2-2 threes, 0 fouls

Best game (SEC only): same

Worst game: South Carolina, 2/2: 0 points, 3 fouls

Wilbekin's role has increased somewhat as Rosario's has decreased; essentially, he's there to not suck off the bench and provide a little rest for the starters.  He does have a pretty good three-point shot.

#24 - Casey Prather - Forward

Size: 6'6", 212

Year: Sophomore

Statistics: 1.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg

Shooting %: .289

3-point %: .500

Free throw %: .417

O-rating: 71.4

Best game: Jacksonville, 11/25: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2/3 shooting

Best game (SEC only): Auburn, 2/21: 2 points, 2 rebounds

Worst game: Tennessee, 2/11: 1 point, 5 fouls, 2 turnovers

Truth is, Prather's probably done more harm than good this year.  Dude fouls a lot - he's managed to foul out of a game (the abovementioned Tennessee one) in just 11 minutes.  7.1 fouls per 40 minutes is his astounding average.  He won't see much time; his on-court role increased a little in the wake of Yeguete's injury, but unless he hacks someone (likely) you might not even notice him.

#34 - Cody Larson - Forward

Size: 6'9", 231

Year: Freshman

Statistics: 0.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.0 apg

Shooting %: .455

3-point %: .000

Free throw %: .400

O-rating: N/A

Best game: Jackson State, 11/11: 4 points, 3 rebounds

Best game (SEC only): Georgia, 1/10: 1 rebound

Worst game: Arkansas, 2/18: 4 fouls

May or may not play.  Won't matter either way.

So there's your primer on the Florida roster.  Full game preview will come Thursday, and as a reminder I'm not posting on Friday because that's go time for all three teams that I'm interested in.

stomping grounds

It doesn't seem likely the baseball team will make Omaha this year.  It's a rebuilding reloading year.  So we're sending our basketball team in their place.  Another postseason, another SEC opponent that borrowed our colors.**  So it goes.

Yes, UVA drew the Florida Gators in the first round.  If you expect the S-curve to hold true to form (it doesn't, because of the other bracket principles like never having conference opponents playing until the Elite 8) we are the best 10 seed and Florida is the worst 7 seed.  This is because Kentucky is the nation's #1 seed, and that team is always on the same side of the bracket as the worst #1 seed.  That makes Mizzou - the likely opponent if we beat Florida - the best #2 seed.

The 30-second book on Florida is that they "can score like crazy, but they can't defend."  KenPom backs that up: Florida is the #3 offensive team in the country but, of the 68 teams in the field, they are 54th on defense, sandwiched between 16A-seeded Vermont (they're going to Dayton on Tuesday) and 15-seeded Loyola (MD).  Florida is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, a tough match-up for the pack-line.  But they're also a small team, the kind against whom UVA has found room to work.

Good news as far as I'm concerned: the game is Friday.  I always like to play Friday.  You're in the tournament longer.  And every day that Joe Harris's hand goes between basketball games is a good day.  On a personal note, this is a fun tourney: it's the first since I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first-year that U-M and UVA are in at the same time, and as a special bonus my grad school is also up in this thing.  I will have your game preview Thursday, because Virginia, Michigan, and Detroit are all playing on Friday, plus also screw you it's the tournament I ain't doing shit on Friday.  Tomorrow, I'll catch myself up on all that I missed in the past nine or so days.  Also, on a final programming note, get used to Sunday posts for a while because I'll be firing up my lacrosse bracketology series again next week.  This may, some weeks, mean no Friday posts.

And yes, this means I'm back from Peru.  It was a really fun trip, but at the same time it's nice to be able to turn on a faucet and receive drinkable water.  Peru is a don't-drink-the-water country.  But I found the silver lining: it becomes advisable, sensible, and correct to order beer at every meal.  (No, not breakfast, you degenerate.)  As a little prize this week, each post will include one or two of the best pictures from the trip.

**I read somewhere, and I can't find it anymore but I distinctly remember reading it, that Florida's colors are blue and orange because some representative of the school of some kind was visiting Charlottesville and had been asked to bring back athletic gear for the football team, and naturally what they bought was in blue and orange.  Hence their colors.  That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it even if I can no longer find a shred of evidence.