RALEIGH, N.C. — Florida coach Todd Golden said his team embraced an underdog mentality while navigating its way through the power-laden Southeastern Conference.
The Gators (30-4) won’t have that angle to use in their NCAA Tournament opener against Norfolk State (24-10) on Friday night.
Florida, the top seed in the West Region, has won six games in a row after capturing the SEC tournament title. It’s the third time the Gators have been dubbed a No. 1 regional seed, reaching the Final Four the first two times.
“We got to keep going,” Golden said. “We have to have the mental toughness to keep pushing through and not be content, not be satisfied with what we’ve done to this point.”
No. 16 seed Norfolk State has won four games in a row and 12 of its past 14, capturing the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament for the fourth time.
The Spartans don’t intend to be overwhelmed, even as huge underdogs.
“This is the time of the year, I told the guys, it’s survive and advance,” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said.
For the Gators, they hope they’ve just been warming up the past few months. Five of their last six games came against nationally ranked foes.
“We still know we’ve got a lot more ball to play,” Florida senior Will Richard said. “We’re a hungry group. We know the main goal.”
Walter Clayton Jr. leads Florida in scoring with an average of 17.5 points per game and has a team-high 143 assists. Alex Condon is the team’s top rebounder with an average of 7.9 per game and shot blocker with 44.
Clayton is coming off a Most Valuable Player performance in the SEC tournament, where he averaged 20.7 points for three games.
Florida thrived during the SEC tournament in Nashville, where opponents had overwhelming crowd support. That included beating Tennessee 86-77 in the title game on Sunday.
“It definitely does a good job of getting us prepared for that tournament setting,” Richard said.
Brian Moore Jr. is Norfolk State’s top scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
The Spartans go with a rotation at power forward, with Jalen Myers and Chris Fields Jr. splitting time. They’ve combined to average nearly 19 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“He’s going to do what he got to do, and I’m going to do what I got to do,” Myers said.
The Spartans rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to post a 66-65 win in the MEAC tournament final against South Carolina State on Saturday.
Norfolk State also fell to Tennessee this season, 67-52 on the road on Dec. 31.
Golden said forward Sam Alexis might be back in action this week after missing more than a month with an ankle injury. He has played in 23 games off the bench and provides valuable depth.
Norfolk State and Florida met in the 2012 tournament’s second round, with the Gators prevailing 84-50.
The winner of Friday’s game will meet either Oklahoma or two-time defending champion UConn in Sunday’s second round.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
