Florida Gators: 20-12, 11-7 in the SEC
Head coach: Mike White (3rd season)
Players to watch: Jalen Hudson (15.3 PPG, 41.1 3PT%); Egor Koulechov (13.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG); Chris Chiozza (11.2 PPG, 6.1 APG)
Season recap: Florida may have been the most up-and-down team in the country this year, looking like a legitimate national title contender when it beat Gonzaga and almost topped Duke at the PK80 Invitational in November, before going into a tailspin with four losses in five games.
The Gators are heavily reliant on the 3-pointer, with all five of their starters attempting more than two shots a game from long distance. Although Florida was expecting to add a post presence with 6-foot-11 big man John Egbunu, his recovery from a torn ACL he suffered in February 2017 stalled, and he was officially ruled out for the season last week.
Junior guard KeVaughn Allen has not shot well all year after an impressive 2016-17 season, knocking down just 33.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, but Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Hudson stepped in to lead the Gator backcourt along with Egor Koulechov and Chris Chiozza. Six-foot-8 Keith Stone and 6-foot-9 Kevarrius Hayes are the only big men in the regular rotation for an undersized Florida squad.
How they make a run: Hudson, Koulechov, Chiozza and Allen all fire away accurately and efficiently from the 3-point line, carrying the Gators to a surprising run to their second straight Elite Eight appearance and potentially all the way to San Antonio.
How they falter: Florida goes cold for long stretches and its inconsistent defense can't keep it afloat on its way to a first-weekend exit.
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