Florida Gators defeat Norfolk State, advance to second round of NCAA Tournament
Updated: 9:01 PM EDT Mar 21, 2025
ROAD TO SAN ANTONIO TOMORROW. THEY’LL TAKE THE FLOOR IN RALEIGH AS THE NUMBER ONE SEED IN THE WEST. THAT’S RIGHT. JUST MAKING IT TO MARCH MADNESS. THAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IN ITSELF. BUT AFTER A FIRST ROUND EXIT LAST YEAR, THE GATORS HAVE GROWN. THEY’RE BETTER. AND THEIR GOALS ARE MUCH BIGGER IN 2025. SPORTS DIRECTOR DAREN STOLZFUS IS JOINING US LIVE FROM RALEIGH TONIGHT, WHERE THE GATORS THINK, GET THIS RUN. YOU KNOW, THEY’RE A LITTLE MORE OPTIMISTIC THIS GO AROUND. YEAH ABSOLUTELY. THEY LEARNED SOME LESSONS LAST YEAR IF YOU WILL. AND TODAY ALL ABOUT PRACTICE AND TALK AND ALL THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE BIG DANCE. BUT TODAY THEY HAVE TO GET READY FOR TOMORROW IN THE GAMES. ACTUALLY HAPPEN. TODD GOLDEN OF COURSE, JUST TWO GAMES HE’S COACHED IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT IN HIS CAREER. HE IS ZERO FOR TWO. THE GATORS HAVEN’T BEEN OUTSIDE THE FIRST WEEKEND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT IN ALMOST A DECADE, BUT DESPITE THE PAST, THE GATORS NOW THEY’RE ACTUAL. NOW THAT’S WHAT HAS THEM SO CONFIDENT AS THEY COME OFF AN SEC TOURNAMENT TITLE SUNDAY IN NASHVILLE. SO THEY DO COME IN TO RALEIGH. THE LENOVO CENTER, WITH A TON OF CONFIDENCE, A TON OF ASSURANCE AS THIS TEAM JUST TRIES TO GET ON THE PATH TO SAN ANTONIO. THEY NEED FOUR WINS OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKENDS TO GET DOWN THERE TO THE FINAL FOUR. FIRST TIME THEY’VE DONE THAT SINCE 2014. THIS TEAM SO, SO CONFIDENT BECAUSE GOLDEN SAYS HE BET ON HIS GUYS, BROUGHT IN A FEW PIECES TO HELP VIA THE PORTAL. BUT THIS TEAM, THEY FUZED TOGETHER IN THE PERFECT WAY. WELL, IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE. MY 1ST MARCH MADNESS. SO JUST JUST BEING ABLE TO JUST TO SEE LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MEDIA IS JUST, YOU KNOW, A BLESSING. IT’S JUST LIKE EVEN THE SEC TOURNAMENT WITH ALL THE FANS. IT WAS CRAZY TO ME BECAUSE IN CHATTANOOGA, IT WASN’T REALLY AS MUCH FANS AS HERE. JUST THE DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERE HERE. YOU SAW HOW QUICK IT CAN GO LAST YEAR. HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE IT GOES MUCH, MUCH FURTHER THIS YEAR? JUST COMING IN WITH THE RIGHT MINDSET, COMING IN AND WATCHING FILM, NOT TAKING TEAMS FOR GRANTED AND JUST PLAYING HARD FOR EACH OTHER. WE SEEN WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR. WE OBVIOUSLY DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN AGAIN. SO JUST KEEPING THAT IN MIND AND GOING INTO THE GAME TOMORROW WITH THE RIGHT MINDSET. SO THE NUMBER ONE SEEDED GATORS ARE ON THE FLOOR TOMORROW, 6:50 P.M. TNT ON THE BROADCAST AGAINST A 16 SEED. THAT SHOULD BE QUITE OVERMATCHED AGAINST NORFOLK STATE. THE MEAC CHAMPIONS. BUT WE’LL SEE. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. WE HAVE SEEN UPSETS IN THOSE 16 TWO GAMES OF THE PAST. ALL RIGHT, SO THE GATORS KNOW WHAT IS AT STAKE COMING UP TONIGHT A LITTLE BIT LATER IN SIX IN SPORTS WE WILL HEAR FROM TODD GOLDEN ON HIS GATORS AND WHAT THEY HOPE TO DO TOMORROW AS THEY BEGIN WHAT THEY HOPE IS A VERY LONG RUN HERE IN MARCH MADNESS. LIVE IN RALEIGH, DAREN ST
Florida Gators defeat Norfolk State, advance to second round of NCAA Tournament
Updated: 9:01 PM EDT Mar 21, 2025
The No. 1 Florida Gators advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday following a 95-69 victory over No. 16 Norfolk State.Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 23 points. The Gators will play the winner between No. 8 UConn and No. 9 Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament, which is scheduled for Sunday. Florida earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Region following 30-4 season which saw the Gators win the SEC Championship earlier this month. This is a developing story.
RALEIGH, N.C. —The No. 1 Florida Gators advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday following a 95-69 victory over No. 16 Norfolk State.
Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 23 points.
The Gators will play the winner between No. 8 UConn and No. 9 Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament, which is scheduled for Sunday.
Florida earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Region following 30-4 season which saw the Gators win the SEC Championship earlier this month.
This is a developing story.
