Times wires
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tonight: Southeast Region Final
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 8 Butler
When/where: 4:30; New Orleans Arena
TV/radio: Ch. 10; 970-AM, 1010-AM
Enrollments: Florida 52,112; Butler 4,200
Records: Florida 29-7, Butler 26-9
How they got here: Florida — No. 15 UC Santa Barbara 79-51, No. 7 UCLA 73-65, No. 3 BYU 83-74 (OT). Butler — No. 9 Old Dominion 60-58, No. 1 Pitt 71-70, No. 4 Wisconsin 61-54
Key stat: Butler shoots 73.1 percent from the free-throw line, Florida 67.8 percent.
The Buzz: Florida must be patient against a smart Butler team on both ends of the court. Offensively, the Gators have more size up front. That includes Chandler Parsons, above, a 6-foot-10 swingman who is an excellent ballhandler and can shoot from the outside. Defensively, Butler runs a lot of screens, and Florida has to worry about Shelvin Mack from beyond the arc. Look for Butler's guards, including Wharton High graduate Shawn Vanzant, to pressure UF guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. Florida's size also has helped it outrebound opponents by 5.8 per game. But Butler's Matt Howard, despite being only 6 feet 8, usually finds a way to neutralize bigger opponents.
Rivals.com
Tale of the tape
Florida Butler
72.6 Points 72.1
64.9 Opp. points 64.3
45.5 Field goal pct. 44.5
44.3 Opp. field goal pct. 42.7
35.7 3-point pct. 35.9
34.3 Opp. 3-point pct. 32.9
6.5 3-pointers 7.5
5.9 Opp. 3-pointers 6.2
67.8 Free-throw pct. 73.1
4.4 Rebounding margin 3.0
1.7 Turnover differential 1.6
6.8 Steals 6.0
3.1 Blocks 1.6