Raleigh, NC-Florida coach Todd Golden said his team embraced an underdog mentality as he navigated through the power-loaded Southeastern Conference.
Gators (30-4) will not have that angle to use in its NCAA tournament against Norfolk State (24-10) on Friday night.
Florida, the top seed in the western region, has won six games in a row after taking the SEC tournament title. This is the third time streets are called a regional seed no. 1 and reach the last four the first two times.
“We have to continue,” Golden said. “We must have the mental toughness to continue pushing through and not be satisfied, not be happy with what we have done to this point.”
No. 16 Seed Norfolk State has won four matches in a row and 12 of the last 14 and captured the mid-every Athletic Conference tournament for the fourth time.
The Spartans do not intend to be overwhelmed, even as huge sub -dogs.
“This is the time of the year, I told the guys, it’s surviving and moving forward,” said Norfolk State coach Robert Jones.
For streets, they hope they have only warmed up in recent months. Five of their last six matches came against nationally ranked enemies.
“We still know that we have much more ball to play,” said Florida Senior Will Richard. “We are a hungry group. We know the main goal.”
Walter Clayton Jr. Leads Florida in points with an average of 17.5 points per match and has a team high 143 assists. Alex Condon is the team’s best rebounder with an average of 7.9 per match and shot blocker with 44.
Clayton comes from a very valuable player performance in the SEC tournament, where he was average 20.7 points for three matches.
Florida thrived during the Sec tournament in Nashville, where opponents had overwhelming audience support. It included beating Tennessee 86-77 in the title game on Sunday.
“It definitely does a good job of making us prepared for that tournament setting,” Richard said.
Brian Moore Jr. Is Norfolk State Topscores, on average 18.4 points per match. He has made in double numbers in all but one game this season.
The Spartans go with a rotation at Power forward, with Jalen Myers and Chris Fields Jr. Spliting Time. They have been combined to an average of almost 19 points and 10 returns per match.
“He will do what he had to do, and I will do what I had to do,” Myers said.
The Spartans gathered from a nine-point half-time deficit to publish a 66-65 victory in the MEAC tournament against South Carolina State on Saturday.
Norfolk State also fell to Tennessee this season, 67-52 on the road on December 31.
Golden said that Sam Alexis can be back in action this week after missing more than a month with an ankle damage. He has played in 23 matches from the bench and gives valuable depth.
Norfolk State and Florida met in the second round of the 2012 tournament, with streets that prevailed 84-50.
The winner of Friday’s game will meet either Oklahoma or twice defending champion Uconn in Sunday’s second round.
-Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
