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Saturday, April 20, 2024

Only three of them know the feeling.

When No. 8-seed UF (23-7, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) steps on the court Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Storrs, Conn., for the first round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 9-seed Temple (21-9, 11-3 Atlantic 10), postseason experience will not be on the Gators' side.

Of the 15 names on UF's current roster, seniors Sha Brooks, Marshae Dotson and Kim Critton are the only players who have ever tasted an NCAA Tournament game, and even their experience was brief.

The lone matchup they took part in - an 83-59 loss to New Mexico that was more than forgettable - seems so distant now.

"It's still kind of new to me," Brooks said. "We made the tournament my freshman year. That was so long ago. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be nervous the first game."

It's clear UF will not be relying on its postseason experience if it wants to generate a deep run in the tournament.

The Gators will focus on what got them to this point and how they can take advantage of the opportunity.

"Experience does factor in some, but I think what factors in a whole lot more to that is readiness, excitement and what your expectations are," UF coach Amanda Butler said.

UF doesn't want to settle for simply making it to the Big Dance.

In fact, the Gators feel like they have something to prove after not getting the higher seed they felt they deserved.

"We have a chip on our shoulder right now," Brooks said. "We're ready to go out there and play."

The team they'll face has two common opponents with the Gators. The Owls fell to Auburn and FSU early in the season by double-digit margins.

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UF went 1-1 against those two teams on the road, knocking off the Seminoles in November by 15 points but losing to Auburn by 16 in January.

"One of the things that's been special about this team all year long is no matter who we were playing or where we were playing them, we've expected to win," Butler said. "And I don't think that will change in postseason."

The Gators will be playing on No. 1-seed Connecticut's home floor, and Brooks expects the home crowd to be pulling for the underdog Owls to knock off the Gators, something she hopes her team will use to its advantage.

"I think our team will feed off of that," Brooks said.

All Butler is concerned about at this point is beating Temple, no matter how little familiarity the Gators have with the tournament.

"We have a few players that have some postseason experience, some NCAA experience. Most of our team does not," Butler said. "But I think when you're doing something for the first time, it's really exciting when you combine a little bit of experience with a whole lot of excitement. I'll take that result."

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