Florida
Florida State Women’s Basketball Selected to 10th Straight NCAA Tournament
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State Ladies’s Basketball remained one of many choose few NCAA Ladies’s Basketball packages to make The Large Dance for the previous decade on Sunday night time. The Seminoles earned the No. 7 seed and can head out to Iowa Metropolis to face No. 10 seed Georgia on Friday at a time to be decided at Carver-Hawkeye Area.
The winner of the FSU-Georgia matchup will battle the winner of No. 2 seed and web site host Iowa in opposition to 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday.
MARCHING ON TO IOWA CITY ‼️#NoleFAM pic.twitter.com/CF45LKGtmn
— FSU Ladies’s Basketball (@fsuwbb) March 13, 2023
Instances for first-round video games can be introduced both Sunday night time or no later than Monday morning.
Florida State’s bid marks 10 consecutive seasons that it has reached the NCAA Ladies’s Basketball Event, becoming a member of fellow mainstays Baylor, Louisville, Maryland, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee and UConn.
The Seminoles additionally be a part of ACC faculties Notre Dame and Louisville in making 17 of the final 18 NCAA Tournaments, a stretch that spans since 2005.
POV ‼️ you discover out the place the Noles are going dancin’ 🪩#NoleFAM pic.twitter.com/RYhsE4g6f9
— FSU Ladies’s Basketball (@fsuwbb) March 13, 2023
“This was their objective,” FSU Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff stated. “Particularly for our older gamers, they wished to get to the NCAA Event. This is the reason they got here to Florida State. They’re undoubtedly able to go and really excited.”
Wyckoff leads the Seminoles as head coach within the NCAA Event for the second time, as she guided FSU to postseason play in her interim yr in 2020-21.
Florida State enters the NCAA postseason with 15 wins in opposition to the NET Prime 100, which is a Prime-15 mark nationally. FSU’s 12-6 file in ACC play, regardless of being picked ninth within the league, is its greatest exhibiting because the 2017-18 season.
The Seminoles will play within the Seattle 4 Area within the 2023 Event. The 2023 championship would be the second to have 68 groups. First 4 video games can be performed March 15-16, at 4 of the top-16 host websites. First- and second-round video games can be performed March 17-20, on the campuses of the top-16 seeds.
The championship can be using a two-site regional format in 2023, with eight competing groups enjoying at Bon Secours Wellness Area in Greenville, South Carolina, and eight groups competing at Local weather Pledge Area in Seattle. Regional play in Greenville and Seattle will happen March 24-27, with every web site internet hosting two regional semifinal video games on March 24 and two on March 25. As well as, every web site will host a regional championship sport March 26 and one March 27.
The 2023 Ladies’s Ultimate 4 can be performed March 31 and April 2 on the American Airways Heart in Dallas.
Florida
Florida Gators Put Nation on Notice with Ole Miss Win
It’s been a good couple weeks for the Florida Gators.
First, they take down No. 22 LSU, 27-16, with a bend but don’t break approach. Then, they follow that up by upsetting No. 9 Ole Miss, 24-17. With that latter win, heads really began to turn. It was one thing to put up fights against Tennessee and Georgia, but now, they’re beginning to take down these formidable opponents.
The analysts are starting to talk them up. ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit is ready to hand head coach Billy Napier the award for coach of the year. He made sure to include that he thinks quarterback DJ Lagway is going to be something special.
“Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!!” Herbstreit said in a tweet. “Billy Napier and [the Florida Gators, after being 4-5 and losing two straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!”
Big Cat from Barstool Sports jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “The Florida Gators may need a playoff berth.”
Now, that can be written off as two guys getting excited, but key writers are noticing too. Florida received votes in the latest AP Poll.
Brian Brian Fonesca of the NJ.com/Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (a CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan) ranked them No. 25. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked them No. 24. It’s only four points, but they’re the only five-loss team to receive votes.
Unofficially, they’re ranked No. 33 in the country. If they had beaten Tennessee or Georgia to have that slightly better 7-4 record, could very well be in the top 25 right now. It’s hard to vote for a 6-5 team, that’s totally fair, but the willingness to do so by a handful of writers is a good starting point. If they win out, including a quality bowl win, to finish 8-5, finishing ranked is realistic.
Those who are signing on now are seeing what could be on the horizon in 2025. This is how they are playing now. This team might have won eight or nine games had this been yearlong. Wait until they play the portal some more this summer to bring in more talent, Napier gets that offensive coordinator and Lagway comes in with nearly a year of play under his belt.
The Florida Gators have put the country on notice. They gave Napier the time to rebuild after Dan Mullen’s collapse, and that time is beginning to pay off.
Florida
Florida shows it can finish with another second-half closeout and a makeshift dunk contest
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida players eager to celebrate their latest victory, the one that made them bowl eligible for the first time in two years, found a suitable prop on the sideline.
Ole Miss left behind its basketball hoop, which the Rebels use to salute big plays during games.
The Gators set it up, grabbed some footballs and held their own dunk contest near the end zone. It provided an apt stage — perfect for showcasing finishing moves — after they closed out another ranked opponent.
Florida (6-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) dominated the second half for the second consecutive week and got to party in the Swamp following a 24-17 victory over then-ninth-ranked Mississippi on Saturday.
Not only did the Gators knock the Rebels (8-3, 4-3) out of the College Football Playoff picture, they won their fourth consecutive home game and raised expectations for coach Billy Napier’s fourth season in Gainesville.
And the manner in which they accomplished it mattered. Napier has been preaching about “finishing,” something that had mostly eluded the Gators in the past two years.
Florida lost four games in 2023 after leading in the second half, including three — against Arkansas, Missouri and Florida State — in the fourth quarter.
And no one following the program has forgotten how close the Gators were to upsetting Tennessee and Georgia earlier this season, losing 23-17 to the Volunteers in overtime and fading against the Bulldogs after being tied at 20 with five minutes to play.
Napier hoped all those gut punches would ultimately lead to something better, and they finally did — with late-game knockouts against LSU and Mississippi.
“Eventually you get sick of that,” receiver Chimere Dike said. “To be able to get these last two wins is huge for our team and our program. I’m proud of the resilience the guys showed, the way that we performed.”
Florida held Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s high-scoring offense to three points in the second half. The Rebels turned the ball over twice — interceptions by Bryce Thornton on the final two drives — punted twice and got stuffed on another fourth-down run.
“I thought we were better on both sides up front, and short-yardage defense is a big component,” Napier said. “Those are identity plays. I think we had guys step up and make plays.”
Added defensive tackle Cam Jackson said: “Everybody just pinned their ears back. That was great.”
It was reminiscent of the previous week against then-No. 21 LSU. Florida held the Tigers to six points in the second half and forced a fumble, a punt and a turnover on downs in a 27-16 victory.
“We just all came together and wanted to change how Florida was looked at,” Thornton said. “That’s the biggest thing with us, just trying to show everybody that we can do it.”
The Gators ended the afternoon showing off their basketball moves.
Cornerback Trikweze Bridges, receiver Marcus Burke, defensive end Justus Boone, tight end Tony Livingston and linebacker Shemar James delivered monster dunks. Aidan Mizell passed a football between his leg in midair before his slam, and fellow receiver Elijhah Badger bounced it off the backboard before rousing teammates and fans with his finish.
“Belief is the most powerful thing in the world,” Napier said. “At some point there, midseason, we figured (that) out and we started to believe. Look, we can play with any team in the country.”
Florida
South Florida 11 p.m. Weather Forecast 11/23/2024
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