With Win Tonight FGCU Would Become Best In Florida, First 15-Seed To Reach Elite 8

By Stefan Lopez

Mar 29, 2013 04:55 PM EDT

With the University of Miami's loss last night, Florida Gulf Coast University is one win away from being the living embodiment of a miracle: they would become the best team in Florida this year.

Everyone knows the story of FGCU now. The team is a ragtag group of players that nobody else cared to offer scholarships playing for a school that is only in its second year playing Division I basketball. The school itself hasn't even existed for two full decades yet.

Then of course there is the mastermind behind it all, Andy Enfield. A man who once upon a time played for Division III Johns Hopkins, he decided to move into corporate America and make his millions. Eventually he returned to college basketball, with supermodel wife in tow, and in only his second year as a head coach, has gotten FGCU to become the first 15-seed to make the Sweet Sixteen.

Those facts have already been well-documented, but now this most unlikely team is on the verge of doing something that absolutely nobody expected. The FGCU Eagles can become the best team in Florida with a win over the University of Florida tonight.

Now some will say that's not right. Just because Florida Gulf Coast got farther in the tournament than other Florida teams doesn't make them the best. That's probably accurate. If FGCU beats Florida tonight, than they would be a combined 8-1 versus teams in the state of Florida, having beaten both powerhouses (Miami and Florida) in the state.

That would certainly be enough to warrant the title for the state of Florida at least. However, don't caught the Eagles out of the National Championship just yet either. They've quickly proven themselves to be perhaps the most athletic team in the tournament, with their high-flying alley-oops and fast pace wowing onlookers thus far.

Tonight they will face an extremely tough Florida team. Though normally a 15-seed versus a 3-seed would be a laughable matchup, the Eagles have been so impressive that nobody is counting them out of this game. If they can grab the win, FGCU would almost certainly become the greatest Cinderella story in tournament history.

Led by their only senior and unrivaled leader on the team Sherwood Brown, Florida Gulf Coast's high-octane offense will square off tonight against the Florida Gator's stingy, second-ranked defense. The tipoff will be at 9:57 Eastern Time in Cowboys Stadium, and without a doubt, the nation of basketball fans will be watching with bated breath.