His team was sequestered this time last March in Nashville, observing pandemic-induced restrictions and playing SEC tournament games before sparse audiences in an effort to bolster their NCAA seeding.
“The whole season was kind of a fog, where everything seemed a bit off, of course, for obvious reasons,” recalled Florida coach Mike White, whose two tourney games at Bridgestone Arena had an announced total of fewer than 4,000 fans. “It was unfortunate, but it was what it was.”
A year later, the unranked Gators (19-12, 9-9 SEC) arrive in Tampa burdened with far more pressure than protocols. Instead of existing in a bubble, they’re on one.
