NCAA Bracket 2012: Marquette Shouldn't Fear Florida Despite Gator Dominance

Florida is fake.

No team has been more dominant in the 2012 NCAA tournament than the Florida Gators.  But Marquette has no reason to fear the chomp.

Sure, Florida looked extremely impressive in the Big Dance’s opening weekend.  They flat-out slaughtered Virginia and a Norfolk State team that KO’d Missouri.  Scoring margins alone, though, aren’t enough to peg the Gators as true national championship contenders.

Going into the tournament, everyone knew that their offense was electric and that their defense was suspect.  Florida is living up to their reputation as a scoring machine, as they dropped 71 points on the Cavaliers and 84 on the Spartans.  But it’s the Gators' supposed improved defense that’s deceiving fans.

Holding anyone to 45 points is a remarkable feat, but the fact that it was the Cavs dampens the accomplishment.  Virginia is the 274th-ranked scoring squad in the nation.  It wasn’t the first time they were held under 50 points on the year.

And yes, Norfolk State beat Missouri, but massacring the No. 15 seed isn’t something to call home about.  After all, if Delaware State is capable of holding the Spartans to 50 points, then the Gators should be as well.

Virginia and Norfolk State were two offensively challenged basketball teams that didn’t have a shot against Bradley Beal and company.  Marquette, on the other hand, boasts the firepower to keep up with Florida in a shootout.

Led by Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, the Golden Eagles average 75.9 points per contest, good for 31st in the country.  Unlike the Gators, Marquette is a solid defensive unit as well.  They held run-and-gun Murray State to just 53 points after the Racers averaged 74.2 a game over the course of the season.

Despite Florida’s pair of overpowering performances, Marquette should still be the heavy favorite in their Sweet 16 matchup.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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