Florida - Purdue Preview

Florida Gators (1) Vs. Purdue Boilermakers (9)
Sunday, 3/18 @ 2:15
Betting Line From Bookmaker: Florida -11.5

In their first game, the first seed Florida Gators didn’t turn it on until the second-half. When it was all over, the Gators hammered the Jackson State Tigers 112- 69. Ninth seed Purdue beat the eighth seed Arizona Wildcats in the initial round 72- 63. The Boilermakers never fell behind by more than 2 points in the game.

The Gators shot 59% (43- 73) from the court and 59% from the foul line. They hit threes at a respectable but less-than-outstanding 36%. Florida poured in 71 points in the second half! Defensively, they blocked 6 shots and made 5 steals. Four of the front five scored in double digits, as did two bench players. A total of 10 players had points.

Two players, both forward/centers, earned double-doubles. Junior Joakin Noah put in 17 points while taking down 12 rebounds and junior Al Horford hit for 15 points while ripping 16 rebounds. Junior point guard Taurean Green led the Gators in assists with 12 while notching 6 points and 7 rebounds. Off the bench, freshman swingman Marreese Speights and senior swing Chris Richard both grabbed 6 rebounds apiece and had 16 and 17 points respectively.

In terms of shot percentages, the Boilermakers were not as impressive as the Gators, going 24- 63 (38%) from the field, 5 -17 (29%) from the three-point mark and 19- 29 (66%) from downtown.

Senior forward Carl Landry put up a double-double with a game-leading 21 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Lutz came off the bench and put in 16 points. He also had 3 assists and 4 rebounds. Freshman guard Chris Kramer was good for 16 points and senior guard David Teague threw in 15. The team grabbed 12 steals and only had 8 turnovers.

The Boilermakers have made amazing strides in a short amount of time considering that they had only won a total of 16 games during the 2004- 05 and 2005- 06 seasons. Under second-year coach Matt Painter they were 22- 11 this year. Purdue is untested under the bright lights, while Florida, the defending national champs, has big time experience to spare. If Purdue can get to the foul line and keep it close on the court, it could go their way, but it won’t be easy.

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