The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles are playing in the Sweet 16. That we know. What can they do to advance further into the tournament, though some believe their end is soon to arrive? Check out the keys to Florida Gulf Coast's game as they get set to hit the court on Friday against the Florida Gators.
At No. 15, FGCU seems like an above average team having knocked off No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State. The first key to their game is point guard Brett Comer. With Comer controlling the pace and running the plays, FGCU has gotten 24 assists just from their point guard alone. In fact, Comer has a third of the Eagles' 36 assists through the first two games of the tournament.
Comer is unselfish, but has the ability to finish at the basket. We see his abilities in the video above as Comer feeds his teammates and then creates offense for himself. He's finished both of the first games with double-doubles. With Comer running the offense, he gives FGCU the opportunity to accomplish their second key to the game: easy finishes at the basket.
Not only can Comer move the ball really well, but defenses are stifled when the Eagles go on their runs and start dunking everything. FGCU has only taken 33 three pointers in the game, meaning they rely on easy baskets as they hover around the paint and rather take high percentage shots. They're not shooting horribly from three connecting on 39 percent, but they're all about Dunk City. If the Gators can't stop them, then we could have another upset on our hands.
Since dunking is their game, FGCU will need clean lanes for passes and finishes at the basket, so they will need to create turnovers and turn up the tempo.
In their first two games, the Eagles forced 31 turnovers. They totaled 18 steals and eight blocks against both Georgetown and San Diego St. 13 of these steals came against San Diego St. Helping them push the tempo as well were the poor shooting performances by both teams. Georgetown hit less than 38 percent of their shots, while San Diego St., though shooting a respectable 44 percent, missed way too many shots at the end of the game.
As long as Comer has the ball, shares the ball and the Eagles force turnovers, then they have the chance of upsetting the No. 3 Florida Gators.
The game is on Friday at 9:57 p.m. ET.
