Today at 12:15 p.m ET the NCAA Tournament's top seed, the Florida Gators, will be back on the court against a very live No. 9 seed in the Pittsburgh Panthers. Watch the game on CBS or live stream it here free of charge. Listen to the Gators' radio broadcast on ESPN 850 WRUF, or catch the Panthers' announcers on 93.7 The Fan.
While Pitt ripped off one of the Tourney's most lopsided wins so far over No. 8 Colorado, the Gators seemed to sleepwalk through much of a 12-point win over No. 16 Albany. "I think we'll be ready," Gators guard Scottie Wilbekin said. "I think we've got this game out of our system and we're ready to move forward and ready to play like we know we can."
Florida's won 27 consecutive games, but they seem to understand how little that means once March Madness tips off. "In this tournament, you have to be aware that every team is fighting for their life, and the goal is just to survive," center Patric Young said. "Seeding doesn't matter when it comes down to between the lines. As you see, a 14 can beat a 3. Fortunately a 16 has never beat a 1, and we were able to keep that going.
"But moving forward ... we have to make sure we do whatever it takes just to survive."
Against Albany they didn't have to deal with anyone like forward Lamar Patterson, a senior who averages 17 points, five rebounds and four assists this season.
"We're playing good basketball right now," Patterson said. "We'll know if we're playing our best basketball on Saturday. ... Right now is the perfect time to be making strides toward the best you can possibly be, and I feel like that's what we're doing as a team right now."
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