Florida Gulf Coast stuns Georgetown, becoming seventh No. 15 seed to topple a No. 2
Sherwood Brown and Brett Comer celebrate a key second-half basket (AP)
Hours after his team won the Atlantic Sun tournament to make the NCAA tournament in just its second year of eligibility, Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield weighed in on the seed he thought the Eagles deserved.
"I don't see how we're a 15 or 16 seed," he said. "I think we need to be higher than that based on the season we've had and the teams we've beaten."
Florida Gulf Coast received a No. 15 seed on Selection Sunday despite Enfield's protests, but the Eagles proved their coach's point five nights later. They became the seventh No. 15 seed ever to win an NCAA tournament game on Friday night, adding to Georgetown's recent history of March misery with a 78-68 opening-round upset.
Unlike last year's stunners by No. 15 seeds Lehigh and Norfolk State, this one didn't even really come down to the final possession. Behind 24 points from Atlantic Sun player of the year Sherwood Brown and 23 from fellow guard Bernard Thompson, Florida Gulf Coast extended a two-point halftime lead to as many as 19 points and never let the Hoyas any closer than five points down the stretch.
The historic upset by Florida Gulf Coast is merely the latest remarkable chapter in Enfield's charmed life story. The former elite shooter at Division III Johns Hopkins has enjoyed success as an entrepreneur, married a lingerie and bathing suit model and risen in his current industry from skill instructor, to NBA assistant to college head coach.
Building Florida Gulf Coast into a winner only two years into his tenure and only six years after it began its transition to Division I may be Enfield's greatest achievement. The Eagles lost 20 0r more games under predecessor Dave Balza each of their first four seasons in Division I, but Enfield led them to a respectable 15-17 record last season and to 24 wins in the regular season this year.
The players who helped Florida Gulf Coast upset Miami and win the Atlantic Sun tournament are a mix of holdovers from Balza's tenure and new recruits brought in by Enfield.
Brown and junior forward Chase Fieler both came to the school under Balza but have blossomed into stars the past two seasons. Thompson and Brett Comer were the first two recruits Enfield signed soon after taking the job in April 2011.
"My goal was to work every day with our coaching staff to make the program better," Enfield said earlier this month. "That was the only goal. Really what we focused on was making the individual players better, upgrade the talent level with recruiting, and develop a style of play that could be successful."
If a team takes on the personality of its coach, then it's easy to spot Enfield's trademark confidence in the Eagles.
They weren't intimidated facing a Georgetown team that won a share of the Big East title and features a future lottery pick in its frontcourt. They got chest-to-chest with the Hoyas when Georgetown committed a series of hard frustration fouls. Heck, Comer even had the guts to throw a lob pass to Fieler for a high-flying alley-oop jam with two minutes to go and Georgetown having clawed back within seven.
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