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RALEIGH, N.C. - They've heard so much talk this week about how they are ripe for an upset, the Florida players are starting to feel as if they're the No. 12 seed instead of Manhattan.
"I think the perception right now (is that) if we win, it's almost like an upset the way people are talking," junior forward David Lee said.
Since the tournament field was announced Sunday night, several television analysts have said the fifth-seeded Gators will have a tough opening-round game with the Jaspers. The Gators haven't escaped that talk, including questions at Wednesday's interviews.
"We respect Manhattan, but we also believe in ourselves and we feel we're going to go out and have a good tournament," Lee said. "We really can't control what people predict, we're just going to go out there and play the game. When the ball is thrown up and we step between the lines, may the best team win."
Manhattan is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"I think this year is more of a business trip," Manhattan senior forward Dave Holmes said. "We wanted to win it last year also, but this year we've got the mind-set that we want to come up here and battle for 40 minutes. We're playing a great team, and we want to do whatever we have to do to get the win."
WALSH BACK: Forward Matt Walsh participated in Florida's shootaround Wednesday afternoon after missing two days of practice, but his badly blistered foot remains an issue.
Walsh said he will switch back to shoes he has worn all season. He was wearing a pair he had used only in practice when he tore a blister on his foot Sunday that left him with an injury akin to a second-degree burn. He said a cortisone shot before the game contributed to the injury because he couldn't feel the blister tear. He said he won't know until the game how well he'll be.
"I have an idea of how it's going to feel, and it's going to be just a matter of pain tolerance," he said.