Alright, last game of the year.
The storylines are easy and all over the place.
Either way, we need one more great game.
Saturday delivered, it helped save the bad Tournament talk.
A great final will have everyone forget about a couple weeks ago.
The last time all four No.
On the other side LJ Cryer was the reason Houston won against Duke.
He was on fire, keeping Houston just close enough to give them the chance for the comeback.
That doesn’t happen if Cryer has a bad game.
You have Clayton as a consensus 1st team All-American and Cryer as a Third Team guy.
Oh, you also have Cryer trying to become someone who won a title on two different teams.
We always say it’s a guards game come March and here we are.
Most Important Player on each team not named Clayton or Cryer
1.
Thomas Haugh (Florida) -It has to be Haugh at this point.
Shout out York, Pennsylvania, home of a bunch of greats.
But the guy has had two big games in a row, especially with Alex Condon struggling.
Now he can come in, hit some shots, give a different look and will be relied upon.
J’Wan Roberts (Houston) -The guy who everyone calls the face of Houston basketball.
He’s been there for 6 years.
That’s how teams attempt to attack Florida.
Storylines, Previews, Breakdowns
1.
They want to deny your key ballhandler/scorer and force others to become playmakers.
Florida obviously has the options but, again, Clayton has been unbelievable.
Rebounding -I know it’s cliche, but uh, you saw Houston against Duke, right?
You’ve seen Houston against anyone this season, right?
They murder teams on the offensive glass, BUT they are a bit vulnerable on the defensive side.
They fly around so much that teams can take advantage here.
Duke did a bit, Florida can too.
you’ve got the option to’t let Houston have a massive shot advantage because you aren’t rebounding.
Will Richard -He was the key in that second half against Auburn.
Florida was getting destroyed in the halfcourt in the first half, especially the frontcourt.
Golden decided to switch it up, move Richard into an on-ball guy and let him disrupt everything.
It worked, obviously.
The question is who do you do this with against Houston?
They have Cryer and Uzan who can be the lead guard and run offense through.
How’s the game officiated -It has to be talked about.
Houston plays physical, they want a physical game.
We know that refs can ruin a game with a million whistles.
They can ruin a game even more by changing how they call a game from half to half.
How they start to officiate this game will be something to watch.
you could’t have a title game turn into a free throw contest.
I know Florida is awesome, no one is saying otherwise.
But there’s something about this Houston team.
If Mylik Wilson shows up and has a decent game, I love this roster even more.
Ultimately it comes down to Houston’s ability to adapt a little bit more than Florida.
