March Madness 2013: Sweet 16!

The Gators are on notice.

15th Seed Makes Round of 16 for First Time

By SCOTT CACCIOLA

PHILADELPHIA — After pregame player introductions, Florida Gulf Coast’s Sherwood Brown began to dance as his teammates, their arms interlocked, spun in a circle around him, their speed building and building until they broke apart and scattered.

In a sense, that was how the Eagles hoped to play against San Diego State on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center: fast and exciting and borderline reckless, a bunch of grown children coloring outside the lines. Why not have some fun?

Florida Gulf Coast officially turned the N.C.A.A. tournament into its own big celebration, romping to an 81-71 victory over San Diego State in the Round of 32. In the process, the upstart Eagles became the first No. 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the regional semifinals.

“As everyone’s seen, we’re doing something special out here,” Brown said.

On Friday, Florida Gulf Coast will face Florida, the No. 3 seed in the South Region, for a spot in the Round of 8. Yes, you read that correctly.

Brown, the Atlantic Sun Conference’s player of the year, pushed his way through foul trouble to score 8 points in a late 17-0 run that blew apart a tight game. There were 3-pointers and dunks, fast-break layups and defensive stops. In other words, business as usual for the Eagles.

It was such compelling theater that many Duke fans — awaiting their team’s late game against Creighton — stood and cheered for the Eagles when they returned to their bench for a second-half timeout. Brown, who finished with 17 points, waved his arms, urging them on.

Bernard Thompson scored a game-high 23 points for Florida Gulf Coast (26-10), which shot 55.9 percent from the field. Brett Comer, the team’s sure-handed point guard, finished with 10 points and 14 assists. And Christophe Varidel, a sharpshooting guard, had three 3-pointers off the bench.

“We just want to make history,” Thompson said. “We live for moments like this.”

San Diego State Coach Steve Fisher, who has a condominium in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., not far from Florida Gulf Coast’s campus, said he was familiar with Coach Andy Enfield’s program, perhaps as familiar as any coach in the country could have been. It did little good.

“They play with a swagger, and they have a right to do that,” Fisher said.

Jamaal Franklin scored 20 points for San Diego State (23-11), which committed 17 turnovers after being sucked into Florida Gulf Coast’s vortex.

“I don’t like to slow our style down,” Enfield said. “I like to let our guys play.”

In just its second season as a tournament-eligible Division I program, Florida Gulf Coast has suddenly gone from one of the country’s most unknown teams to perhaps its most celebrated. On Friday, the Eagles pulled off the Round of 64’s most remarkable upset, knocking off second-seeded Georgetown. In the wake of that win, Enfield said he received 450 text messages, e-mails and voice mails.

But such was life in the spotlight, not that his team was going to change. After all, these were the same players who, just before taking the court for their Atlantic Sun tournament final earlier this month, opted to keep loose by partaking in a locker-room round of freeze tag. The players refer to Fort Myers as Dunk City — for good reason, based on the evidence they have provided.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Enfield said.

At the same time, Brown said he and his teammates were not satisfied with one win, with one upset. They wanted more. It might have sounded brash, considering the team played in Division II as recently as 2006 (and in the N.A.I.A. before that). Did they care? No.

The Eagles were amped from the start. When San Diego State’s Chase Tapley pump-faked on a 3-pointer on his team’s opening possession, Brown barreled into him like a bulldozer. At the other end, San Diego State’s aggressive defense continually forced Florida Gulf Coast into using the entire shot clock. This was not the Eagles’ preference. They wanted to leak out in transition and score easy baskets.

Still, Florida Gulf Coast looked to be easing into its familiar rhythm midway through the half when Comer found Eric McKnight for an alley-oop dunk — a play reminiscent of the team’s high-flying acrobatics against Georgetown. It spoke to the team’s carefree, go-for-broke style.

“We’re going to be in full attack mode the whole entire game,” Comer said.

The Eagles dealt with adversity against San Diego State. Brown picked up his third foul early in the second half, but his teammates took up the slack. Comer got into the lane for a runner, and Varidel hit a 3-pointer. By the time Chase Fieler raced in for a fast-break layup, Florida Gulf Coast was ahead, 52-46, and Fisher was desperately calling for a timeout. Brown hit another 3-pointer for a 58-52 advantage, and the lead grew from there.

“It’s hard when we keep going and going and going at you,” Comer said.

Nobody has been able to slow Florida Gulf Coast. Not Georgetown. Not San Diego State. The team’s next stop is Arlington, Tex., though Enfield did not seem entirely sure of the destination. “Where are we going?” he asked.

His players knew: Dunk City was headed where no No. 15 had been before. “Everybody be ready,” Thompson said.

Holy Week 2013

I've made it clear that I plan to eat the biggest burger at Carl's Jr. when it's Good Friday. I do like the insignia for Pope Francis...although to be fair it's essentially his former cardinal arms papabilized.