No. 3 BYU Vs. No. 2 Florida will be a matchup of contrasts in the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket. BYU's Jimmer Fredette will have to come up big to counter Florida's balanced attack, led by Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Vernon Macklin. The two teams will do battle at 7:27 p.m. on TBS, according to the 2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 schedule, with the great Gus Johnson and Len Elmore on the call.
Sweet 16 Predictions, Preview: Florida Gators Vs. BYU Cougars, 7:27 ET Thursday
We know that BYU is all about Fredette. Many felt the Cougars were vulnerable after losing big man Brandon Davies to a suspension, but Fredette has stepped up his game even more in the Cougars' two NCAA Tournament wins thus far. Fredette dropped 32 points and seven assists in BYU's 74-66 second-round win over No. 14 Wofford, then topped that with 34 points and six assists in a 89-67 third-round win over No. 11 seed Gonzaga. Slowing Fredette is obviously the priority for Florida, but he's demonstrated he can get the ball to his teammates when he needs to do so. That makes BYU a particularly tough team to cover.
But if there’s a team that can do that, it’s Florida. The Gators are well-balanced, with four players averaging in double figures. They can fill it up offensively, mostly because you can’t gameplan to stop one guy. If you shut down Parsons, then you run the risk of Walker and Boynton beating you from the perimeter and Macklin dominating inside. The Gators also have a number of options with defending Fredette. They could put Parsons on him, to try to have a bigger defender, or they could run Boynton instead. Either way, it’ll be a much tougher matchup than anything Fredette has faced thus far. The Gators got here by coasting by No. 15 UC-Santa Barbara, 79-51, then holding off No. 7 UCLA, 73-65.
Star Watch: Fredette, of course, is the man to watch for BYU. For Florida, Parsons has to come up big on both ends to get the Gators to the next round.
Prediction: Team Florida proves to be too much for Team Fredette. The combination of Parsons and Boynton limits Fredette’s output as much as possible, and the Gators win, 71-62.
More Reading: SB Nation’s Florida blog Alligator Army has everything about the Gators covered, while our BYU blog, Vanquish The Foe, is a great BYU resource.
Need help catching up with all the action? Here’s a printable NCAA Tournament bracket and an updated Sweet 16 schedule.
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