The Gators have never been more ready to forget about the Southeastern Conference.
No. 23 Florida (16-7, 7-4 SEC) will look to put a disappointing stretch of SEC games in the rearview mirror as it prepares this week for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m just happy to get out of the league right now,” coach Becky Burleigh said.
The Gators experienced unprecedented struggles within the SEC during the last three weeks.
Prior to this season, Florida had never lost more than three games within the conference in school history. The Gators surpassed that total by losing to LSU and South Carolina at home to end the season, their first ever back-to-back home SEC losses.
After defeating Georgia and Alabama in the first two rounds of the conference tournament last week, Florida fell 3-2 to a seventh-seeded Auburn team it defeated during the regular season.
Burleigh said having the opportunity to play an opponent outside the conference will give her team a fresh start.
“For our players it’s going to be nice to be out of the SEC in terms of not playing somebody that knows us so well,” Burleigh said. “That whole second half of the season where everybody knows every single player on every single team is a little bit of a grind.”
The SEC’s presence in the NCAA Tournament is greater than ever, with a record eight teams making the field.
“We’re battle tested,” said Burleigh, referring to the quality of the SEC.
Florida learned Monday afternoon that it received a No. 2 seed and will play host to the Atlantic Sun Conference champion Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday in the opening round of the tournament.
The Gators defeated the Eagles on Sept. 11, 5-0, but Burleigh said that win does not have any bearing on Saturday’s match.
“We don’t get any extra points for having beat them earlier in the year,” she said.
Although Burleigh said the Gators’ previous win is irrelevant, she said she likes having game tape to review.
While the Gators have had inconsistencies on both offense and defense throughout the season, Burleigh said the team sees the tournament as a chance at a fresh slate.
She also believes the experiences of the up-and-down season will serve them well going forward.
“We have done a lot of things that have helped to prepare us,” she said. “We’ve played in a lot of pressure situations. We’ve played from behind. We’ve been able to dominate games.
“Those things make us better in the long run, but now it’s time to put all of those things together and execute.”
