NCAA Bracket 2012 Predictions: 5 Reasons Florida Gators Can Win the Tournament

The NCAA tournament is finally here and should provide us with a ton of entertainment like it does every year. But with Selection Sunday come and gone, we have very little time to do our last bit of homework and fill out our brackets. 

That's where I come in and try to help you correctly pick a champion.

Not very often does the best overall team end up winning the tournament, it's usually a solid team that gets hot at the right time. So while most are predicting teams like Kentucky, Ohio State or Syracuse to win it all, you should be looking for those sleeper teams to bring home the trophy.

Here are five reasons why the Florida Gators can win the NCAA national championship.

Guard Play

If you have great guards running the show for your team, you have a chance to make a run in the tournament. For Florida, they have one of the better backcourts in the entire country led by senior Erving Walker, junior Kenny Boynton and freshman Bradley Beal.

The Gators will go as far as these three players take them as they not only set their teammates up for shots, but they are also the top three leading scorers on this team. All three can create their own shot, shoot a high percentage from the field of at least 40 percent and of course can stroke it from beyond the arc at a high percentage. Beal even averages over six rebounds a game, which is the second most on the team.

Sure, the trio averages over five turnovers a game, but the guard position is incredibly deep on this team. If you think guards play a huge impact in the tournament, it really gets no better than the Florida Gators.

Points, Points and More Points

We now know what the guards can do, but they aren't the only ones capable of putting the ball in the basket for this team. Florida averages nearly 77 points per contest which is the 18th most in the country.

Their 54.9 field-goal percentage is ninth best in the country, and the 9.9 three-pointers made a game is second to none. All five starters average double-digit points, which make this team extremely dangerous come tournament time.

In the game against Florida State this season (one of the better defensive teams), Florida shot 48 percent from the field and dropped 82 points on the Seminoles. 

Very few teams can run the scoreboard through the roof like the Gators, and they can get their points in a variety of different ways. A total of eight players shoot at least 40 percent from the field and five players shoot at least 35 percent from beyond the arc.

When the shots are falling, nobody is beating this team.

Disciplined

When filling out my bracket, I like to try and avoid the teams that beat themselves. Florida is a team that doesn't help the other team that much, which makes me like them even more in this tournament.

The Gators only average 11.2 turnovers a game, meaning that only 25 teams in the country are better at holding onto the basketball. They're also a team that doesn't send the opponent to the free-throw line very often either. Florida averages fewer than 16 fouls a game, which is 29th in the country, and the opponent only shoots 17 free throws on average.

The Gators do a great job of taking care of the basketball, and make the opposition work for their points. When you're a disciplined team like Florida is, you'll have a chance to win any game and at the end of the day, that's really all you can ask for.

Battle Tested

You always want the team that you predict to win it all to be battle tested. A team that's played great teams during the regular season, and has even won a few big games in hostile environments.

Florida didn't exactly play well against the Kentucky Wildcats, but they did win games against Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Florida State and only lost by four in the game against Syracuse, which was in the Carrier Dome.

The Gators have proven this year that this young team can play with the big boys, and that's all you can really ask for. That alone gives them a chance to catch fire and win this year's national championship.

Billy Donovan

Seriously, how many coaches in this tournament would you pick over Billy Donovan? I bet you can count them on one hand. Donovan has had excellent success as a head coach, and has already won two national championships in 2006 and 2007. He's also won three SEC tournaments, made the championship in 2000 and recently made it all the way to the elite eight with last year's team. 

His resume really needs no introduction as he knows how to really get the most out of what he's given.

Well coached teams really have an advantage in the tournament, and judging by Donovan's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if the Gators end up cutting the nets down at the end of the tournament.

For your printable bracket for the 2012 NCAA tournament, click here.