Sunday afternoon, it was announced that Florida (24-8, 14-4 SEC) had earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and would face No. 13 East Tennessee State on Thursday at 3:10 p.m. ET on truTV in the Amway Center in Orlando. If the Gators are to win, they would square off against either No. 5 seed Virginia or No. 12 seed UNC-Wilmington on Saturday.
Now, Inside the Gators takes a quick look at ETSU and Florida's other two potential opponents this weekend.
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* Inside the Gators Bracket Contest - winner receives year's membership
* No. 4 seed Florida will face No. 13 East Tennessee State in Orlando
* Selection Sunday discussion thread
* After quick SEC Tournament ouster, Florida turns attention to NCAA Tournament
* The Transformers: Looking at Gators who have reshaped their bodies
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NO. 13 EAST TENNESSEE STATE (27-7, 14-4 SOUTHERN CONFERENCE)
NCAA Tournament overall seeding: 52nd
KenPom.com power ranking: 64th
Leading scorer: G T.J. Cromer (19.1 PPG on 45.4% shooting)
Leading rebounder: F Tevin Glass (6.2 RPG)
Leader in assists: Desonta Bradford (4.0 APG)
Leader in blocks: F Hanner Mosquera-Perea (1.3 BPG)
Leader in steals: G A.J. Meriweather (1.6 SPG)
Notable wins: Mississippi State, Chattanooga
Notable losses: UNC-Wilmington, Dayton, Tennessee
The rapid rundown: The Buccaneers, who like Florida are in the Big Dance in their head coach's second year at the helm, haven't won an NCAA Tournament game in 25 years. Steve Forbes' group will look to break that pattern and earn an upset victory over Florida on Thursday. ETSU doesn't have a dominant low presence, but the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Glass (8.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG) has been solid. Pushing the pace with the 70th-fastest tempo in the country, the Buccaneers rank 13th nationally in effective field goal percentage (56.1%), 15th in two-point percentage (55.4%) and 44th in three-point percentage (38.2%). East Tennessee State is more efficient defensively (44th in the country) as compared to offensively (109th), per KenPom.com, forcing opponents to turnovers on 22% of their possessions (19th in the nation). However, ETSU is undisciplined sometimes offensively, with turnovers on 20.6% of its possessions (307th nationally).
NO. 5 VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (22-10, 11-7 ACC)
NCAA Tournament overall seeding: 17th
KenPom.com power ranking: 7th
Leading scorer: G London Perrantes (12.5 PPG on 41.3% shooting)
Leading rebounder: F Isaiah Wilkins (6.2 RPG)
Leader in assists: Perrantes (3.8 APG)
Leader in blocks: Wilkins and F Mamadi Diakite (1.3 BPG each)
Leader in steals: Wilkins (1.0 SPG)
Notable wins: Providence, California, Louisville, Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech, North Carolina
Notable losses: West Virginia, FSU, Villanova, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Miami, Notre Dame
The rapid rundown: Virginia, the No. 1 team in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.com, likes to slow down the tempo and grind it out against opponents. The Cavaliers' adjusted tempo and and average possession length (21.4 seconds) are near the bottom of the country. (Virginia-UNCW will definitely be a contrast of styles on Thursday.) Offensively, Virginia is an effective group, ranking 38th in the country in adjusted offense efficiency, hitting 39.3% from downtown (19th nationally) and turning over the ball on just 15.6% of possessions (16th in the nation). The Cavaliers, who reached the Elite Eight a year ago and lost to UNC in the ACC Tournament title game, lost in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals to Notre Dame this year.
NO. 12 UNC-WILMINGTON SEAHAWKS (29-5, 15-3 CAA)
NCAA Tournament overall seeding: 49th
KenPom.com power ranking: 60th
Leading scorer: G C.J. Bryce (17.6 PPG on 49.1% shooting)
Leading rebounder: F Devontae Cacok (9.6 RPG)
Leader in assists: G Denzel Ingram (5.4 APG)
Leader in blocks: Cacok (1.3 BPG)
Leader in steals: G Chris Flemmings (1.4 SPG)
Notable wins: East Tennessee State, St. Bonaventure
Notable losses: Middle Tennessee, Clemson, College of Charleston
The rapid rundown: The regular season and tournament champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, the Seahawks like to push the tempo and are a proficient team scoring the basketball. Third-year head coach Kevin Keatts’ group is 18th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and ninth nationally in field-goal percentage on two-point baskets (56.1%). UNCW also has the second-best turnover percentage nationally, with just 13.9% of possessions resulting in a turnover, while averaging 6.1 steals per game (fourth nationally). Defensively, the group is more average, allowing opponents to shoot 54.2% on two-point baskets (328th in the country).
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