in NCAA B Articles

In the Florida Gators won five of their six games by double-digit margins en route to a National Championship.

Their dominance on the scoreboard has not been so evident during this go around.

Florida has used the proverbial on and off switch in the first two rounds of March Madness, which is a bit of a cause for concern.

They have slacked in the first halves and have needed big second half performances to reassert themselves. Against 16-seed, Jackson State, they were only up by six points at halftime. Versus Purdue, they were trailing by two points at halftime.

Granted, the Gators did flick the ‘on’ switch and burn past Jackson State and Purdue, but there are trepidations that Florida either doesn’t have the passion to dominate for a full game, or doesn’t have what it takes to do so.

The typical conversation has been more of “is the glass half-empty or half-full?”

Are the Gators really showing some lapses and weaknesses or is it a case of when they are focused, they are still the cream of the crop?

When the Gators are manning up, they are near impossible to beat.

They have made an astounding 42-of-62 (68%) field goal attempts in their two opening round second halves. In the first halves, they are 22-of-53 (42%).

If you are a sports betting person, which you likely are, if you are reading this, you might want to seriously consider taking the under in the first half of Florida’s match against Butler.

Their next opponent, Butler, will easily prey on them if they once again struggle to score points.

Butler is now 21-0 this season when holding their opponents to less than 60 points.

Interestingly enough, Butler seems to be at the other end of the spectrum from Florida.

They don’t have a roster full of NBA prospects, they don’t have a ton of athleticism and they don’t have the experience.

But one area where they do hold the advantage over the Gators is mental toughness.

The Bulldogs are one of the sharpest teams and entail a high level of basketball smarts. They are rarely caught out of place defensively and excel at the basic fundamentals that typically lead to the demise of the so-called talented teams.

More importantly, they don’t turnover the ball very often. They averaged less than ten turnovers per game in the regular season. By contrast, the Gators have coughed up 27 turnovers in the first two rounds.

There is no question that the Gators have an edge in explosiveness, speed, athleticism, coaching and virtually every other measurable category. They have the muscle inside to really dominate the Bulldogs, even their jerseys are more appealing.

But Butler, as all underdogs do, has a certain edge. If they play the perfect game, slow the pace like Purdue and Jackson State were able to in the first half, force turnovers and keep Florida under 60 points, they will have a legitimate shot to advance to the Elite Eight.

That may sound like a lot of ifs but in this Tournament, anything can happen.

Go to the online sports betting action!