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NCAA Basketball: Top 16 breakdown, belief in Maryland, and more weekly takeaways

By Brian Rauf

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins celebrates against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins celebrates against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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SUNRISE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Head coach Mike White of the Florida Gators (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Head coach Mike White of the Florida Gators (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

5) Florida is playing themselves out of the tournament

If you want to pick on an SEC team, Florida is the team you should focus on. After being ranked No. 6 in the AP preseason poll and the national championship pick of many (including myself), the Gators have woefully underperformed and are now on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament altogether.

Since upsetting Auburn on Jan. 18, Florida has lost four of their last six games with the latest being an extremely disappointing 68-51 loss to Ole Miss. It was the kind of performance that had head coach Mike White looking for answers after the game.

"“They defended better than us. They rebounded better than us. They coached better than us. We’ve got to ask ourselves as a team why are we down 22? Why are we down like we were today? They played better than us.”"

Unfortunately for Florida, the problems that plagued them early in the season are still the ones they’re currently struggling with.

Scoring continues to be a concern for them, especially in the half-court. They shoot extremely poorly partially due to personnel, partially due to poor shot selection, but mostly due to poor play design that simply doesn’t get players open or put them in good positions to score. Florida ranks 127th in the country in effective field goal percentage because of it.

They have enough talent to be a top 10 team and have players that excel playing at a faster tempo. When they get into situations where they have to force the issue and play fast, they actually excel and are able to get easy baskets in transition. It’s why they’ve been able to pull off several big comebacks, including two of at least 20 points in conference play.

Of course, when they have a choice, they play at one of the slowest tempos in the country (296th), fully exposing their poor half-court execution (because that makes sense, right Mike White?). It’s maddening and will likely cost them a tournament berth – and may cost White his job.

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