Harry Fodder usually comes at you with a “Blog Bits” notes package on Sunday, but considering there's a fairly big game later tonight I figured I'd roll out a few thoughts NCAA thoughts and leftovers as we wait for the ball to be tossed for Florida-Norfolk State.
* UF scoring leader Kenny Boynton, the junior guard from Pompano Beach, entered the NCAA Tournament in a shooting slump. He was grilled about it before the first-round game against Virginia and after going 3-for-10 from the floor and 0-for-5 from the arc was drilled about it some more. “I'm doing the same stuff, they're just not going down,” said Boynton, who is has made just 25.7 percent overall and 19 percent (4-for-21) from the arc over the last five games. “Not going to make any adjustments. Just going to wait it out.” That's what Coach Billy Donovan wants him to do, too. From the Florida coaches' standpoints, Boynton isn't forcing anything on offense. “That's all you're looking for,” Donovan said. “He has not shot the ball particularly well, but he's taking good shots and I have confidence in him. He just needs to continue to do that.”
* Interesting unofficial stat via UF coaches that says something about how Missouri maybe got a little too perimeter happy in that stunning loss Friday to 15th-seeded Norfolk Stat: the Tigers had 32 possessions during the game without a pass into the paint. That won't be the case for the Gators today.
* After the second-round matchup was settled, UF's team had a meeting later that night at the hotel where video coordinator Oliver Winterbone aired a montage of the day's events. There were cut-ups of key plays of good execution to illustrate why the Gators had beaten the Cavaliers so handily. There were similar clips showing why the Spartans had pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history. Then came video of a variety of commentators giving their take on what to expect from Florida-Norfolk State, including TNT's Charles Barkley stating Missouri was a similar-but-better version than Florida, so why not expect the same result? Then there were shots from inside the Norfolk State locker room of the Spartans celebrating, with the backup guard Brandon Wheeless' shout-out to the Gators -- “Our message to Florida is be ready. We're going to come at them even harder than this.” -- superimposed on the screen. Donovan's enusing message to his team: None of it matters; any of it. Instead, the next game was all about how the Gators prepared and played in the game; that they would get what they deserve.
* At the start of the day, Donovan's NCAA record of 26-9 equated to a winning percentage of .743, which ranks third among active coaches behind only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (.767) and North Carolina's Roy Williams (.756), and just ahead of Michigan State's Tom Izzo (.735). Of course, the men in places two through four had a chance to gain some ground Sunday on Coach K. #lehigh
* On Nov. 30, Norfolk State lost a game to Division II Elizabeth City (N.C.) State 69-57. In that one, the Spartans turned the ball over -- get this -- 34 times. Five guys had at least four turnovers. Center Kyle O'Quinn had six and forward Pendarvis Williams had eight. “We overlooked them,” O'Quinn said. But it may have been a good thing. “It was a wake-up call,” Coach Anthony Evans. “We had won some games in a row and we weren't doing the things that helped us win.” Look for the Gators to drop double-teams down on O'Quinn, force him to pick up his dribble and try to find open men spotting around the perimeter. Norfolk made 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range after shooting 31.1 percent for the season. Whether they can do it again -- and get the looks to do it again -- likely is the key to the game.
* Be back later. Enjoy the game.
