2011 NCAA Bracket Predictions: Can Florida Gators Ride Easy Street to Sweet 16?

NCAA Bracket 2011 Has Many Tough Roads, Florida's Is Not One of Them

Here is the thing. A good portion of these big programs will fall short of their end goal. I would say all but one of them will. Where their road ends we will not know until the clock strikes zero in their game. There are teams that have an easier path to victory.

The Florida Gators have an easy path to the Sweet 16. They start against an undersized UCSB team, a team that is just happy to be here. While the Gauchos fly cross country, the Gators will be playing in their own back yard.

Then comes either UCLA or Michigan State. In any other year, those teams would strike fear into the hearts of anyone that dare oppose them.

This is not one of those years. John Gasaway of ESPN echoes the sentiment, "Florida will play the winner of Michigan State-UCLA, meaning the Gators are sure to see a well-coached opponent with a rich history of NCAA tournament success. That being said, these are not the most fearsome editions of the Spartans or the Bruins that we've seen come down the pike."

After that, Florida could get a number of teams on the mend. St. John's will be missing D.J. Kennedy. BYU is without Brandon Davies. Without key guys, these teams would be easy picking for the Gators.

That leaves them right at the doorstep of the Sweet 16. It is nice what a generous seeding can do. Florida is no marvel of basketball acumen. They really should not be a two seed. This sentiment is heard far and wide.

Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald states, "Somehow, the Kentucky Wildcats, who beat the Gators twice, including handily in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game Sunday, fell two seeds lower than Florida. So much for common sense."

So, the Gators should not be this high. I agree. They hate pesky defense. They are thin on the bench, and they rely too heavily on the outside shot.

But this seeding nabs them a Sweet 16 berth. Don't get mad at me. Get mad at the selection committee.

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