Another season of college hoops is upon us, so you know what that means: complaining about December non-conference losses on Twitter, Bracketology updates ad nauseum from Joe Lunardi and the cloud of a federal fraud trial that implicates most major programs in the country in some way.
This men's basketball team has the potential to be the best Florida Gators basketball team outside of the 2006-07 back-to-back title-winning teams. Seriously. It actually is realistic.
The Gators men’s basketball team began last season ranked No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25. It had a solid run, finishing 21-13, but after a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament at the hands of Texas Tech, Florida may not grace the top 25 in this year’s preseason poll.
Blake Snell has been one of the most dominant starting pitchers in all baseball through the 2018 season. During his third season in Tampa Bay, he’s unexpectedly led the Rays to a record on the plus-side of .500 (46-44) and put himself in serious contention for the American League Cy Young Award.
There were 12 University of Florida athletics teams that finished in the top five nationally in their respective sports during the 2017-18 season. This statistic, a program record, begged the question, who is the best coach among this crop of talented teams? Sports writers Alanis Thames, Andrew Huang, Chris O’Brien and Mark Stine nominated their picks in this alligatorSports Awards installment.
Despite ending with a 5-2 loss to Arkansas at the College World Series on June 22, the Florida Gators’ 2018 season shouldn’t be overshadowed by the team’s failure to repeat as national champions.
The last time he faced the defending champs, Arkansas starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell only lasted one inning and gave up six runs (five earned) on four hits and four walks.
He’s a freshman, but he sure didn’t look like one Thursday night.
As soon as he finished his swing, he knew.
It was an ugly, ugly game.
Strength versus strength.
He dashed to second before careening over and falling to the ground.
Alligator File Photo
Jackson Kowar was near flawless on the day.
“I’m forever grateful for this place, and I’m really glad to have been a part of it,” Singer said.
Over the weekend, the Florida Gators advanced from the Gainesville Regional, but it wasn’t in dominant fashion, especially in the final two games.
The Florida Gators played two games against the Florida Atlantic Owls Monday night.
The ball kept going, and going, and going.
The Columbia Lions came out firing on Friday afternoon against the Florida Gators.
“A new season starts tomorrow.”
Solutions by The State News
