Gators Bench Shines in NCAA Tournament Debut

0:00On March 21st, the Florida Gators, the defending national champions, and top seed, crushed Prairie View A&M-1014-55 in their first-round NCAA tournament game. This blowout gave several bench players their debut in the Big Dance, a rare chance since most college athletes never get there. Freshman. Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram each log seven minutes, combining for ten points on solid shooting. Second year forward, Victor McKeeke and newcomer Alex Kovachev also tasted tournament action for the first time, with Kovachev hitting a key, three-pointer. Even center Olivier Ryu got in for nearly two minutes, capping things with a crowd-pleasing dunk. Players on the bench love seeing their practice warrior shine, senior guard Xavier and Lee called it awesome to watch everyone contribute and have fun together. These moments build team spirit for a squad that's all about depth. Urban Claves are and Isaiah Brown stepped up big too, playing 17 and 18 minutes respectively.

1:02They're most in the tournament so far. Both embraced bigger roles after learning behind pros last year, focusing on what the team needs to keep winning. No starter played over 25 minutes, so the Gators head into Sunday 7-10 PM. Eastern showdown with ninth seed Iowa feeling fresh. Those early opportunities for the bench should fuel them deep into March madness.