Florida Basketball: 3 keys for matchup against Arizona State Sun Devils

Use Your Experience

One distinct advantage that Florida is going to have in this game is their experience. They have a lot of players who have a lot of experience winning big games and a lot of experience in College Basketball overall. Let’s start with head coach Todd Golden. He has been to the NCAA tournament 3 out of the last 4 years taking San Francisco before taking Florida the last two seasons. Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley has taken numerous teams to the NCAA tournament as well.

Walter Clayton, who is the star for the Gators, has played in the NCAA tournament 3 times and has been apart of a lot of winning teams. He was also coached by the legendary Rick Pitino at Iona. Alijah Martin was a star at Florida Atlantic and has played in two NCAA tournaments and a Final Four. They have 60% of their roster returning from last year’s tournament team, and with the players who have played in multiple NCAA tournaments, that is more than anything that Arizona State has. The Sun Devils have many seniors, but none of them have played in the NCAA tournament. 

Experience is huge in the College game, especially in winning close games. This is a game that many are going to expect to be close to, and the experience, especially down the stretch of the game, is going to be critical. Decision-making and shot-making get better as you get older, and Florida has taken good shots all season long. The Gators will need to rely on their experience in a neutral site game, especially when the game gets close. If Florida accomplishes these three things, they will win the game.