Not since the days of Joakim Noah have the Florida Gators’ big men been much to write home about. That’s changed in the 2014 NCAA March Madness Tournament, and it’s one of the stories to follow tonight as UCLA and Florida face off in the Sweet 16. UCLA is one of the nation’s best, most efficient, most finesse offenses. The Bruins don’t rebound their own misses or draw fouls, but they shoot so well that they usually don’t need to. To see how it works out you can watch UCLA vs Florida basketball online free live stream using a few different services.
Tonight’s Florida Gators vs UCLA Bruins basketball game should be an offense-defense matchup for the ages. The Gators are one of the nation’s two or three best defenses. They enter Thursday’s game ranked No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency (and sixth in pure points allowed per possession). While Patric Young doesn’t put up mind-blowing numbers, he commands the paint as well as anyone in the country. Against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Young had seven points, eight rebounds and four blocks—and Pittsburgh’s Talib Zanna is a significantly better post player than anyone on UCLA’s roster.
Since Nov. 18, Florida hasn’t played in a game with 70 or more possessions in regulation, and they’ve played 13 games this season with 60 or fewer possessions. Contrast that with the UCLA Bruins, who during the regular season didn’t play in a single game with fewer than 66 possessions. The Bruins rank 15th in the country in average possession length on offense, and Florida ranks 350th on defense. One of those things has to break.
Comparing the Wear twins in the paint against Young and Will Yeguete is laughable. But if they can hit some mid-range and three-point shots to stretch Florida’s defense, it would open up all sorts of opportunities for Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Norman Powell to do their thing. You can tune into CBS tonight or watch UCLA vs Florida basketball online free live stream to see the teams duke it out. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:45 PST / 9:45 EST.
UCLA guards Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson are two of the nation’s best players, and they may be the two most talented players on the court in Thursday’s game. But the Gators have some talent of their own and are one of the few teams capable of throwing multiple matchups and looks (Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Will Yeguete, even Patric Young) at Adams and Anderson for 40 minutes.
You can watch UCLA vs Florida basketball online free live stream by visiting the NCAA March Madness website and locating the game there. The site lets you watch every March Madness game free, including live broadcasts from CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV, etc. If you’re hoping to watch No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 1 Florida tonight in the Sweet 16, you can tune into the 6:45 PST / 9:45 EST tipoff live on CBS. You can also watch their Sweet 16 matchup using the link above. If you use the link, the live stream CBS sports functionality should work on a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
