The first weekend is in the books and 16 teams are left to battle for a spot in the Final Four. The Gators found out who their opponent would be today after Georgetown took care of the Big 10's Ohio State. They say the first weekend of the NCAA tournamount is all about the little guy. Seeing which team will be one of the unknowns to make a statement with their play. Similarly, the second weekend is all about the big guy. The Big time programs usually move on. Thus, as the tournamount progresses you could say it gets less exciting because the unknown factor is less likely. The question Greg Stoda asks about the 2006 Gators is 'How good are they?':
"We have a lot of fun," Horford said. "We've had a lot of fun all season." That's no small thing, either. There does seem to be a joyfulness to these Gators that has seemed to be missing from Florida teams for a while. Of greater X's-and-O's importance, it is a group of widely diverse skills -- effective three-point shooters, slashers, versatile defenders, rangy big men -- blended with speed and quickness. "We're very, very balanced," Donovan said. And these Gators, he added, learned another lesson rather quickly. "Playing hard and playing passionately isn't good enough to win," Donovan said. They're 29-6, have tied the school single-season victory record and have stopped a disturbing post-season trend. All of which is why the question about the Gators has changed so completely.
The thing that impresses me is that these guys seem to have this bond. Sorta like the Fab 5, except its the Gator Super Sophs. Secondly, they had success early on and then they were humbled in SEC season play. The opponents said hey you are pretty good. But, you are gonna have to work harder. So they seemed to peak at right time. The statement game was playing at Kentucky and that game showed us they are one of these multi talented teams. That showed their potential has no boundries. Lets get it done next weekend. Go Gators!!