Pro Basketball Hall of Famer-turned-analyst, Charles Barkley, didn’t hold back in letting the Florida Gators know about their poor performance after Iowa upset them in the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators, one of the four No. 1 seeds in March Madness, entered the tournament as a favorite pick by many to repeat as National Champions, or at the very least, reach the Final Four. However, their postseason play came to an end at the hands of a hungrier Iowa Hawkeyes team, who won, 73-72.
After trailing for a majority of the game, Florida managed to get a lead, but Iowa continued fighting back. With eight seconds remaining, the Gators held a two-point lead and needed to stop Iowa on an inbounds play up the length of the court.
The Hawkeyes swiftly eluded the defense and found an open player to nail a three-pointer, taking the lead, and Florida couldn’t respond, bowing out earlier than expected from the Big Dance.
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On Monday, Charles Barkley chatted on “The Dan Patrick Show” and spoke about this weekend’s games. He addressed how much he dislikes watching “bad basketball.”
“I can’t really watch it like a regular fan. You have to always say, ‘What was that guy thinking?’ I’m not trying to say that I’m the greatest thing, but I know how to play really good basketball,” Barkley prefaced his remarks with.
“You got the lead, why would you pressure? Just keep the ball in front of you, make them make the shot. I said, ‘If they press, they’re just gonna start a fastbreak,'” he indicated he told his in-studio colleague, Kellogg.
“It was just one of the worst defensive calls. It was just a bad play,” Barkley told Patrick, also adding that someone said after the game the Gators “planned to foul” in the final seconds.
“That makes it even worse. Why were you chasing then?” he asked.
With the loss, Florida now suffers a disappointing early exit, while the No. 9 seed Hawkeyes move on to the Sweet 16. They’ll play against the No. 4 seed, Nebraska, on Thursday night.
Barkley, who covers both NBA and college hoops at times, previously played his basketball for the SEC’s Auburn Tigers, who didn’t make this year’s tournament, but became a heated topic of discussion before and after their snub from the field.
The March Madness coverage thus far has featured Barkley returning for March Madness in-studio analysts, typically with Nate Burleson, Kenny Smith, and Clark Kellogg. Former WNBA and UConn player Renee Montgomery joined the crew in place of Smith after the first day.
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For more about the NCAA Tournament, visit Newsweek Sports.
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