The Florida Gators had a great regular season in 2016-2017, finishing 26-8 with a win over Kentucky. Because they limped to the finish line with a 3-3 record, many believed Florida would be upset by 13 seeded East Tennessee State or lose to UVA. Instead, Florida has won both games with ease, absolutely destroying Virginia to reach the Sweet 16.
Composition.
Florida is coached by Billy Donovan disciple Mike White, who has helped the program to again reach a high level of competitiveness. No player really stands out among the others, but they all play together effectively.
Guards KeVaughn Allen and Kasey Hill take care of the ball and make sure that Florida stays efficient on offense. Justin Leon is a knockdown three point shooter who averaged close to 40% from deep during the regular season. John Egbunu led an elite Gators defense during the regular season, but an injury has prevented him from continuing with the team this year. Florida has battled through it, and showed off their defensive muscle in a win over Virginia.
Kenpomeroy.
Ken Pomeroy is a very well respected basketball statistician who ranks teams based on a variety of factors. These rankings are usually quite good and predicting the national champion and separating the contenders from the pretenders.
On these rankings, Florida is third thanks to their combination of effective offense and aggressive defense. A team that nobody was talking about prior to the Sweet 16, Florida could easily make the Final Four in what would be a resurgency for their basketball program.
Path.
Florida now has a clutch Wisconsin team that knocked off Villanova standing in their way.
Guard Bronson Koenig seems to hit every big shot he takes and Nigel Hayes has stepped up his game significantly in the tournament. It will be really difficult for the Gators to guard big man Ethan Happ without Egbunu, but they've already proven that they can function without him in the first two games of the tournament. In any case, Florida has had an extremely successful season that should be admired regardless of whether or not they make the Final Four.