Welp, the past few days since Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater in the Round of 32 have been nightmare-ish, to say the least, for Maryland basketball fans. At this point, most of Terps Nation has accepted that Willard to Villanova is more so a possibility than just being a rumor. Willard’s the only man who knows what his future will be beyond this season.
For now though, he has a chance to advance Maryland to its third Elite Eight appearance in program history and for the first time since their 2002 national championship team led by Gary Williams. However, there’s a glaring hurdle in front of Willard and the Crab Five from advancing to the next round. Their matchup tonight at 7:39 PM EST will be their most challenging against Todd Golden’s Florida Gators.
Florida is the number one seed in the West Region of the tournament bracket. They won the SEC Tournament Championship against Tennessee, and had as good of a case as anyone to be the number one overall seed in the dance, which was eventually awarded to Auburn.
Kenpom’s third highest ranked team in the country come into tonight with a 32-4 overall record and finished 14-4 in SEC play. They’re tied for the third best scoring margin in the country, scoring over 85 points a game, and are also top three in the nation on the glass.
The Gators have four double-digit scorers and are without question the most complete starting unit that crosses paths with Maryland this season. Walter Clayton Jr. leads the way with a team-best 17.9 points a game along with his team-leading 146 assists. Alijah Martin is right behind Clayton Jr. in scoring production, but also brings Final Four experience in his inaugural season with Florida. Martin was a part of the Cinderella Florida Atlantic team from two years ago. That team has three players currently playing in the Sweet 16 all for different teams. Including Martin with Florida, Vladislav Goldin of Michigan and Johnell Davis of Arkansas will be competing for a spot in the Elite Eight. Additionally, Goldin is coached by Dustin May, who was the Head Coach for FAU during that run as well.
Florida really only has one flaw to their game which is their percentage at the stripe, shooting just under 72 percent as a team from the free throw line. Beyond that, this is a flawless team led by Golden with almost no true weaknesses on either end of the floor.
For Maryland, knocking down shots early is a must. They’ve come out flat to start in both their previous tournament games. It was not a grand issue against Grand Canyon as the Terps snapped out of that rut quickly, but Colorado State and their great offensive attack put Maryland in an early hole that was a massive uphill climb to overcome. The Terps shot just under 42% against the Rams, and an even more concerning statline was being outrebounded 39-29 while having the significant size advantage across the board.
The Gators have plenty of size to pair up against both Juju Reese and Derik Queen with Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh at 6’11 and 6’9 respectively. Condon leads the Gators with over seven boards per contest while Haugh provides nine points and six rebounds of his own.
This is the biggest game for Maryland basketball in the past decade. There is more drama and rumors around this program than you could shake a stick at, and yet there is still just so much on the line. There’s no doubt that Florida will be prepared and ready to go for the Terps and the Crab Five, as the quest for national championship number two will go through Gator nation live from San Francisco.