This year’s edition of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off on March 12 with the annual Selection Sunday event. However, the field of 68 schools will be missing the Florida Gators who have been a steady fixture in the Big Dance over the past few decades but are out of the picture in [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s first year as head coach.
The Orange and Blue’s tournament history began in 1987 when [autotag]Norm Sloan[/autotag] led a squad that featured three future NBA players: Vernon Maxwell, Dwayne Schintzius and Clifford Lett. Seven years later, during their fourth appearance, the Gators made their first deep run under coach [autotag]Lon Kruger[/autotag], whose squad was bumped out of the Final Four by a dominant Duke Blue Devils team.
In total, the Gators have made the NCAA Tournament 22 times with a combined record of 48-20, though due to sanctions, the 1987 and 1988 records have been vacated by the NCAA making their official mark 45–18.
Gators Wire chose one head coach, two assistant coaches (who are essentially the honorable mention head coaches) and 10 players split between the starters and backups that make up the University of Florida’s all-time roster. The tipoff starts with the head coach.