The #1 Florida Gators are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.
Todd Golden’s team took down the reigning back-to-back national champion #8 UConn Huskies, 77-75.
In a game that was plagued by turnovers and missed free throws, the Gators got it done when it mattered most.
Golden said, “We made winning play after winning play in the last 6 minutes.”
It was a tale of two halves.
Florida guard Alijah Martin owned the first 20 minutes, scoring 14 points to start, as the rest of his teammates tried to find their rhythm.
A few electrifying dunks and threes from Martin got the Gators offense going early, and kept the crowd in the game.
Despite a cold offensive start by the Huskies, they managed to keep it close with their defense, forcing an uncharacteristic nine Florida first-half turnovers.
Gators point guard Walter Clayton Jr. also had a slow start. But when he got going, he was able to drop in a couple of much needed threes.
After that sloppy first half, Golden said halftime was all about adjustments. “We were doing some uncharacteristic things that we simply haven’t done, you know, for a long time. We were loose with the ball in the first half, we didn’t rebound great. And those are kind of the hallmarks of our program that makes us consistent and raises our floor.”
UConn came into this game as the reigning two time national champions – and to start the second half, they looked the part. They brought the pressure and straight-up outplayed Florida.
Second chance points and physicality on the boards made this game look like it was over.
But with under two minutes to go and all the pressure starting to suffocate the Gators, Clayton took over.
The all-american took the entire arena over.
Clayton hit back to back threes to establish the first Florida lead since the first half.
The gators never looked back.
After their 77-75 nail-biter, Clayton acknowledged his slow start and gave the credit to his teammates.
“I wouldn’t say, I know they were kind of denying me a little bit, but I’ve seen that before. It was more of just kind of a me thing, but I think we’ve seen some things and my teammates did a great job throughout the game, you know, kind of picking up where I was slacking off.”
UConn head coach Dan Hurley was visibly emotional after his program’s 13 game win streak in the NCAA tournament was snapped.
The Gators now head to the city by the Bay – San Francisco – for the Sweet-16. They will play on Thursday for a spot in the Elite Eight.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
