The critics who built the Gators up, only to bash them when they lost three of four games in February. The naysayers who insist there’s no way Florida can win another national title.
The Gators (33-5) want to be the first team since Duke in 1991-92 to win back-to-back basketball titles — and the first ever to do it with the same five starters.
To do it, though, they’ll have to first get by UCLA in the national semifinals Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s championship game, which Florida won in a rout, 73-57.
Last year’s victory over UCLA gave Florida not only its first national title, but the first half of what would turn out to be the Gator Slam. When Florida beat Ohio State for the national football title in January, the Gators became the first school to be champs in both sports at the same time.
One of the biggest knocks on Florida is that while the team looks exactly like last year’s, it doesn’t play like it.
With the exception of one game, last year’s squad romped through the tournament. This one has had to come from behind in each game.
The Gators have won 16 straight in the postseason, a stretch that includes one national championship and two Southeastern Conference titles.