Indeed, March Madness has finally completed its long-awaited return to the sports world after a grueling two-year drought. The regular season has wrapped up, conference tournaments have been won, and brackets have been filled. All that’s left? The actual NCAA Tournament, where any team can win on any given day and shock the world. Cinderella runs will be fulfilled, dreams will be crushed, and a champion will emerge at the top in early April. So, who’s gonna be the king of dance this time around?
While most people would waste no hesitation to say Gonzaga, we say not so fast. This year should boast one of the strongest tournament fields we’ve seen in years, as multiple conferences have an elite level of play everywhere you look. The crazy part of it all? There’s no Duke or Kentucky. In an extremely competitive year of college basketball, the sport’s two biggest blue bloods managed to miss out on the tournament. North Carolina did make it, but even they’ve regressed from what they were a few years ago, as they will enter the tournament as an 8th seed. Instead, it’s been schools such as Gonzaga, Illinois, Baylor, and Michigan that have established themselves as the cream of the crop in 2021.
What about the lower seeds, you ask? Well don’t worry, the lower seeds look much more threatening this year than they have in the past. For starters, Georgia Tech and Georgetown have both ended their seasons on a very high note by winning their respective power six conferences. They’re sure to be threatening in the big dance. However, we have another team in mind: The Florida Gators.
Florida Gators vs Virginia Tech Hokies Preview
The No. 7 Florida Gators will face the No. 10 Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday at 12:15 PM EST on CBS in the round of 64. At first glance, this should be one of the most evenly contested matchups in the opening rounds of the tournament. The records of the two teams qualify as fairly similar, as Florida will come into the game with a record of 14-9 (9-7 SEC) whereas Tech currently holds a record of 15-6 (9-4 ACC). The Gators established a NET ranking of 31 in CBB with a record of 5-5 against quad-1 teams. Virginia Tech performed slightly worse, finishing with a NET ranking of 48 and a record of 2-3 against quad-1 teams.
Late Season Woes for Gators and Hokies
If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that both of these two teams underperformed in the closing stages of the regular season. The Gators have unimpressively lost 3 of their last 4 since February 27th, only winning against the feeble Vanderbilt Commodores in that timespan. Virginia Tech had it even worse due to growing concerns over COVID-19, as the team played only four games in the month of February. Unfortunately for the Hokies, the problematic month put their hopes of a higher seed in jeopardy. The program dropped from a top 25 team in the AP Poll to an average seed in the NCAA tournament.
So who wins and who goes home? It’s hard to say, especially with the two slumps these two teams endured. Before we come to a consensus, let’s go over the key factors for each team.
Key Factors for Virginia Tech
Two words: Keve Aluma.
Yup, that’s really all there is to it for the Hokies. Give the ball to Aluma and let him do the damage on the court. The junior forward out of Maryland has tallied an impressive 15.6 PPG, 167 rebounds, and 28 blocks. In case you’re wondering, that’s a team-high in each one of those categories. Obviously, Aluma will not carry the Hokies to victory by himself, but it’s safe to say that he will be doing a majority of the heavy lifting. As for the other notable contributors for the Hokies, look for guards Tyrece Radford and Nahiem Alleyne to make a possible difference, as both are averaging over 10 PPG.
Key Factors for Florida
We can’t lie when we say that Florida, like Virginia Tech, has a clear-cut best player on their squad. Tre Mann has impressed many Gators and opposing fans alike, as the sophomore guard leads the Gators in PPG (16.0) and has tallied 125 rebounds, 75 assists, and 32 steals on the season. Even better, Mann is playing arguably his best basketball of the season at just the right time, as he’s scored 20 or more in every one of his last four games. With that being said, one could argue that the Gators’ side contributors make just as big of a difference. Look for Colin Castleton to make his presence known in the paint, as the junior forward has averaged team-highs of 5.9 rebounds per game and 2.2 blocks per game.
Overall Consensus
With both teams featuring similarities in multiple categories, this matchup should prove to be very competitive. It’s challenging to pick for or against either team, as the two competitors have faced their fair share of ups and downs. However, if there’s a favorite in this game, it’s the Florida Gators. After completely evaluating these two teams, Florida gets the slight nod due to their quad-1 record. It may only be a single stat, but it shows how well a team performs against the best of the best.