Florida Gulf Coast University is the clear Cinderella story in the NCAA tournament as the first number 15 seed to make it into the Sweet 16 and with a win on Friday night against Florida in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium they will be the highest seed to even reach the Elite Eight.
The team that brands itself as "Dunk City" after defeating Georgetown and San Diego State now is on the national stage and the Eagles will get the chance to prove if they are the best team in the state of Florida, as the Miami Hurricanes lost to Marquette on Thursday. FGCU already beat Miami earlier this season and now they will get a chance to take no the Gators to make a historic jump into the next round.
The Eagles have gone from completely unknown to a nationwide story, leaving the Gators out of the spotlight and in a perfect position to make a statement. Head coach Billy Donovan will have his team ready for the matchup at Cowboys Stadium as his Gators know that Florida Gulf Coast has the talent to win and history at their backs.
"The way we looked at it, we did make history. ... We feel like we shocked the world," said Brett Comer. "Nobody picked us to beat Georgetown, or San Diego State, for sure. We're going to prepare for Florida the same way. We're going to try to win again."
Comer has been key for the Eagles with 22 points and 24 assists in two wins in the tournament and the team will be relying on him on Friday night. The stadium has room for over 50,000 people, far bigger than any place the Eagles have played this season and a far cry from the school that has under 15,000 in enrollment. The media descended on the campus during the week and the team is in fresh territory in just its second eligible season in division one.
The team has been scoring at a high rate this postseason including the 78 they scored against Georgetown in the biggest upset of the tournament so far. The team ranked 49th in scoring while hitting over 46 percent from the field. The Gators score over 70 points per game and are ranked eighth in field goal percentage with over 48 percent shooting from the field.