2011 - 2012 Florida Gators Basketball Preview

SEC Sports Fan sees the Florida Gators coming in 4th in the SEC and making another trip to March Madness. You can read our reasons at the 2011 - 2012 Southeastern Conference Basketball Predictions and Preview.

Use the links on the schedule below to buy your Florida Gators Basketball Tickets.

Great run by the Gators in March Madness. In fact, a great season as they won the SEC East; SEC Regular Season Championship; beat BYU in the "Sweet 16" and ran all the way to the Elite 8" of the 2011 NCAA Tournament!!

Of course, this was no surprise to us as we said from before the season that the Florida Gators looked to be the best team in the SEC going into the 2010-2011 season. They return all 5 of their starters from last year's 10th seeded NCAA Tournament team, and with the addition of freshman Patric Young, a 6, 225 pound bruiser, the Gators look to return to championship form this year. [Although not such a good start losing to Ohio State 93-75; you can read more about that game at No Huddle Sports.

Patric Young looks to bring a physicality to the Gators that they have been missing since Joakim Noah entered the NBA draft. He is a five-star recruit that brings with him an average of 12.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game; these are game changing stats if he can adjust to the speed of the college level. Other players claim that he is probably one of the strongest players on the team already, and he is looking at splitting playing time with Vernon Macklin, Florida�s starting Center.

Young is not the only story on this team, however. Florida's starting 5 all return from last season, allowing them to build on last year's tournament experience. These players have extremely high expectations, even for a team that is projected to start in the top 15 when the season gets underway. They want nothing more than a National Championship to hang their hats on. Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus, just two of the main pieces of last year's team, are especially looking forward to this season, which is likely to be their last year as Gators.

This dream is not out of reach by any means, especially when one looks at the resume of their head coach, Billy Donovan. Donovan led Florida to back-to-back National Championships in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. With the talent that he has recruited, it seems as though he is poised to lead his team back to the final rounds of the NCAA Tournament once again.

With the experience across the board, as well as the new 5 star talent that they have coming in this season, the Gators look to finish at the top of the SEC. I would not be surprised if they could secure as high as a number 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament as well, if certain things go their way. The Gators should make for an extremely exciting team to watch, and I definitely would not miss any of the times that they square off against their SEC East rivals Kentucky. The winner of this series of games could determine the SEC Champion at the end of the season.

If you haven't read it yet, check out our Billy Donovan Biography. Get your tickets at 2010 March Madness Tickets.

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