The Gators are the Terps’ first tournament opponent with a single-digit seed, and are a popular pick to win it all.
No. 4-seed Maryland men’s basketball doesn’t have much time to ride the high of Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater Sunday night.
It sent the Terps to the Sweet 16 for the second time in 22 seasons, but a daunting task faces them there: No. 1-seed Florida, who have FanDuel Sportsbook’s second-highest odds to win it all (+420). An upset would send Maryland to the Elite Eight for the third time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
A marquee matchup is in store Thursday night at San Francisco’s Chase Center. Tip-off is set for 7:39 p.m. EST and the game will air on TBS.
Florida Gators (32-4, 14-4 SEC)
Head coach Todd Golden enters the tournament’s second weekend returning to an area he knows well. Golden played college basketball at Saint Mary’s — less than an hour drive from San Francisco — and coached at USF from 2016 until 2022 before departing for the Gators’ job.
Florida is fresh off a nailbiting 77-75 win over UConn, in which it trailed for nearly the entire second half before pulling away in the final minutes. But that was its worst performance of the month, and it’s not particularly close. The Gators cruised through a loaded SEC Tournament, beating Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama by an average of 18.3 points.
They are yet to lose a nonconference or neutral-site game this season, and sharpened their teeth in a conference that sent seven teams to the Sweet 16 and 14 to the tournament.
Players to know
Walter Clayton, senior guard, 6-foot-3, No. 1 — Clayton is the Gators’ do-it-all point guard, and he’s one of the best in the country at that role. The consensus first-team All-American led his team in points (17.9) and assists (4.2) per game, while also making an impact on the defensive end with 1.3 steals per game and 0.5 blocks per game — a particularly impressive figure given his size.
Alex Condon, sophomore forward/center, 6-foot-11, No. 21 — Condon is one of the best passing big men in the country and has a high motor on defense. He averages 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, and has seven double-doubles on the season.
Alijah Martin, graduate guard, 6-foot-2, No. 15 — Martin and fellow guard Will Richard have both played second-fiddle to Clayton throughout the year — and done so admirably — but Martin has been the more consistent asset throughout the postseason. He’s scored double-digit points in each of his last eight games, contributing to his second-most points per game on the team (14.6).
Strength
Offense. Florida scores the third-most points per game in the country (85.4) and has the second-highest KenPom.com offensive rating this season. It’s scored at least 80 points in 29 of 36 games — the Terps have only done so in 16 of 35 — and can get to that high output in a variety of ways.
Weakness
Free throws. It’s hard to find a true flaw with the Gators, but they’re far from the best team in the country from the line. Their 71.9% free-throw percentage is 10th in the SEC and 192nd in the country.
Three things to watch
1. Toughest NCAA Tournament opponent yet, by far. Maryland’s first two tournament opponents — No. 13-seed Grand Canyon and No. 12-seed Colorado State — were ranked No. 101 and No. 42 by KenPom, respectively. Florida is No. 3. The only better KenPom team the Terps — ranked No. 10 themselves — have played this season is Michigan State.
2. Gillespie vs. Clayton. Clayton is one of the best guards in the country and has scored at least 22 points in six of his last seven games. Gillespie is coming off a rough showing in the Round of 32 against Colorado State. The Terps’ point guard will need to tighten things up if they want to pull off the upset.
3. The Terps must improve on the glass. Maryland was outrebounded, 39-29, by the Rams in the second round — a team without a player over 6-foot-8 in its starting lineup. Florida’s starting lineup includes two players listed at 6-foot-11: Rueben Chinyelu and Condon, the latter of who many consider to be an NBA-caliber prospect. An outing like the Terps put up in the second round won’t suffice this time.