The Florida Gators survived the first weekend of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and they advance to the East Regional Semifinal at the New Orleans Arena on Thursday, where they will be facing No. 3 seed BYU. Here is everything you need to know about that matchup. The late game on Thursday in New Orleans will match 8th-seeded Butler against No. 4 Wisconsin; the winners of the two games will meet on Saturday.
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 BYU, 7:27 p.m., TBS: After Pitt was knocked out of the tournament by Butler, Florida is the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Region. They will have their hands full with BYU however, particularly their do-everything point guard Jimmer Fredette. If you've been watching College Basketball this year, than you already know who he is. He is a score first point guard that can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court with ease. He is the Nation's leading scorer and is a threat to go off for 40 on any given night.
But Florida has some scorers of their own that BYU will have some trouble with. Erving Walker showed how clutch he is down the stretch of the last game, and if Kenny Boynton's ankle is alright (which it seems it should be), they combine to form one of the more dangerous backcourt tandems in the Country. And lest we forget Chandler Parsons, the versatile forward who was named SEC Player of the Year.
This is one of the few matchups of teams that have lived up to their seed, which means that both teams will have a tougher matchup than almost any other team in the Sweet 16. But that also means this has the potential to be one of the best games.
More March Madness resources: updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket ... Sweet 16 bracket and game times ... complete NCAA Tournament coverage.