All season long, the team motto for the Gators has been "want more."
And on Monday night, they got it.
After missing out on any form of postseason play last season, Florida is going back to the Big Dance.
Competing as a No. 5 seed, UF will square off with Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at noon. Florida’s bracket also features Syracuse, which UF would play on the Orange’s home court should both teams win their first games, and conference rival South Carolina.
"When something’s taken away from you, you seem to appreciate it a little bit more than you would maybe when you kinda take it for granted," UF coach Amanda Butler said on Monday. "It’s a great feeling, a great reward for our players, but also the beginning of something special, hopefully."
While wanting more has helped the Gators get to the tournament, they have also adopted unusual tactics in an effort to reach the postseason.
At the beginning of the season, for example, Butler took her players boxing to teach them toughness. Now, five months later and days away from the NCAA Tournament, she decided it was time for her team to revisit the ring.
"We really feel that the biggest determining factor for us in this tournament and how far we can go is gonna be totally driven by our toughness," Butler said. "And so (boxing) was something we felt like really gives us an edge and it’s a great way for us to set the tone for toughness."
Toughness is something that Butler has tried to instill in her team since day one, but it was also something that appeared absent the last time the Gators took the court.
In a 23-point beatdown at the hands of Kentucky in their first SEC Tournament game, the Gators couldn’t muster up any toughness in the face of adversity, and only fell further behind as the game wore on.
But Butler is approaching the upcoming NCAA Tournament as a new season, which includes treating its loss to Kentucky as nothing more than a motivational memory. And by taking her team boxing again, she’s hoping the toughness will return.
Another moniker the Gators have gone to is trust, loyalty and commitment, or TLC. The acronym is on all promotional material around the basketball complex, and the attitude has led to the Gators having something they didn’t have last year: another chance.
Last season, after a 22-point loss to Auburn in the SEC Tournament, there was no chance to prove anything. The whole season culminated in a blowout conference tournament loss. So this year, the Gators are excited to have another shot.
"There was a really palpable feeling that was a lot of desire, a lot of hunger, a lot of anticipation for what was next," Butler said of the team’s practices leading up to selection Monday.
Making the tournament had extra meaning for redshirt senior Carlie Needles, who is one of five players graduating after this campaign.
"Going out last year was tough on us," Needles said. "It’s a new season for us… and we’ll be ready to play and we’ll start off the way we started off the regular season."
In addition to the slogans, monikers and methods already being employed, Butler added a new one heading into the tournament. This time, she used horse racing as a metaphor for how her team is approaching the NCAA tournament.
"All we can do is go out and run our race and play our best, and I think that’s the way our team is gonna approach this," she said.
But unlike race horses, the Gators hope to avoid going into their next contest blind to what they’ll face: a big stage with big-time opponents.
"Competing against the best in the country, you’ve gotta play your best at the right time, or you’re gonna be disappointed," Butler said.
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
Amanda Butler calls out instructions during Florida's 92-69 loss to Kentucky at the SEC Tournament on March 4, 2016.
