Florida Basketball: 5 Keys to Peaking in March Madness

The Florida basketball team has aspirations of cutting down the nets in Atlanta in early April.

Billy Donovan has a team filled with upperclassmen who have experienced success in the NCAA tournament. The Gators have made the Elite Eight each of the last two seasons, and this year, they have rolled through their schedule the majority of the season.

Florida is 23-5 and 13-3 in the SEC, and while a No. 1 seed is probably out of reach, the Gators could still put together a title run. Florida is getting healthy at the right time, but the Gators still have some issues that need to be resolved, namely proving they can win a tight game decided in the final minutes.

Here are Florida’s five keys to peaking in March Madness.

5. Remain Healthy

Florida is starting to get healthy at the right time. According to the team’s official Twitter feed, Friday was the first time Florida had its full team for practice in 138 days.

Will Yeguete had surgery on his left knee in early February, but he played 11 minutes this weekend against Alabama in his first action since Feb. 5. Michael Frazier played six minutes after missing the game at Tennessee with a concussion. Casey Prather had to leave the game against Tennessee on Feb. 26 with a facial laceration, but he scored 10 points in 24 minutes and keyed the team’s comeback against Alabama Saturday.

The Gators are not a very deep team, playing primarily an eight-man rotation. They can’t afford many injuries if they want to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

4. Share the Ball

Florida coach Billy Donovan was not pleased with the way his team played offensively against Alabama. The Gators managed just seven assists in their 64-52 win, more than eight shy of their season average of 15.5.

“We are not a good team unless you start seeing our basketball team between 17 and 24 assists,” Donovan said, according to The Palm Beach Post. “We don’t have players that can make plays on their own. They’re not capable of doing that. They need to rely on and utilize each other.”

There isn’t a star player on Florida’s roster who can bail them out when a play breaks down. So, the Gators have to play team basketball to get quality shots.

3. Get Kenny Boynton on Track

Kenny Boynton is the player who will more than likely end up with the ball in his hands in an important situation for Florida.

However, he has taken a step back when it comes to his offensive efficiency this season.

Boynton is shooting just 39.6 percent from the floor compared to 44 percent last season. From three, he is making 32.8 percent as opposed to 40.7 percent a year ago. Boynton has not made 50 percent or more of his field-goal attempts in 10 straight games.

The Gators will need Boynton at his best, especially down the stretch in close games, when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

2. Face Adversity

Florida has played really well this season. So well, in fact, that the Gators have only played four games that have been decided by single digits.

Florida has come out on the losing end in every one of those games.

In the lead-up to the NCAA tournament, it would benefit Florida in the long run if it encounters some adversity. The Gators got a taste of that on Saturday when they trailed Alabama by eight points midway through the second half.

Blowing teams out is great, but odds are that won’t happen in the NCAA tournament. The Gators would be best served by encountering some tough situations and deficits while the stakes aren’t so high.

1. Come Through in the Clutch

Florida has not fared well in games that have come down to the wire in the last minute. The Gators lost 65-64 at Arizona despite leading by six with just over a minute to go on Dec. 15. Florida was sloppy down the stretch and gave the game away.

Then, on Feb. 19, they let a 13-point lead slip away with just under 11 minutes to go. Florida had chances in that game to re-take the lead, but it ended up settling for a couple perimeter shots from Kenny Boynton in the final minute.

The question over who will take the final shot is not one with a clear-cut answer. Billy Donovan has plenty of options, but no one has stepped up and actually done it yet. Pulling out a close game late could do wonders for Florida’s confidence.