| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Last 30 Days | 5 | 4 | 0.00 | +2.50 |
| Season to Date | 5 | 4 | 0.00 | +2.50 |
#781 Belmont +12½ -106 over FLORIDA
7:00 PM EST. It’s year two with Mike White at the helm in Gainesville and the Gators have lost leading scorer Dorian Finney-Smith, who is now with the Dallas Mavericks. After an up and down season that resulted in an NIT appearance, Florida returns four starters and hopes are high in Gainesville. However the Gators are one of the SEC’s worst three-point shooting teams. The loss of Finney-Smith leaves a big gap to fill in. A few players also transferred out of the Gators program over the offseason. The emphasis here is too focused on Florida’s current undefeated mark in comparison to the 1-1 mark the Belmont Bruins own, who lost their opener at the Gators’ fellow SEC colleague Vanderbilt by 14 points six days ago. Initial reactions would certainly indicate that the Bruins coming by way of the middling Ohio Valley Conference cannot stack up against a Power Conference foe like Florida but we’re not so sure about that.
In the last five years, the Bruins have qualified for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on four occasions, a number equivalent to the amount of tournament berths the Gators clinched as well over that span. However, while Belmont may have been one and done in each of those tournament berths, they did not enjoy the same benefits that Florida has. Belmont could only get in to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament by the only sure-fire way to achieve qualification: win their conference championship. When a team like Belmont gets in, they are almost always a low seed in the event, which means playing a high seed in Round 1, which in turn results in early exits. While we are not here to make excuses for Belmont, we must highlight the fact that this is a team that is accustomed to playing with their backs against the wall against elite competition. Regardless of whether Belmont has been successful in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament or not or whether they have made it out of the first round, the Bruins undoubtedly have big game experience historically and this serves as an advantage for them as they head into Gainesville. Bruins Coach Rick Byrd has seen it all and done it all on countless occasions, as he has built this program from the ground-up in over thirty years of service. This is a basketball team that under his captainship, regardless of turnover and attrition has consistently won in excess of 20 games in 11 of the 13 previous seasons the Bruins have taken the hardwood.
Belmont was the team to beat in the Ohio Valley Conference last season and they ended up with the best overall record in the conference at 12-4. With four starters back, led by inside force Evan Bradds, Belmont will again be the favorite out of the OVC to reach the NCAA Tournament. On a team known for their great guard play and outside shooting ability, having a player like Bradds in the paint is huge and we’ll trust this well-coached and dangerous underdog to bring this one in under the number.
