Florida is heading to the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
No. 1 Florida didn’t look like an NCAA tournament favorite in the first half against No. 4 Maryland. But the Gators sure did in the second half.
Florida advanced to its first Elite Eight since 2017 with a 87-72 West region win over the Terrapins. Florida put the game away with a 13-2 run that extended the lead to 74-56 with just over seven minutes to go.
The win is the eighth straight in the Sweet 16 for Florida and is tied for the second-longest Sweet 16 win streak in men’s NCAA tournament history behind North Carolina’s 11. Since 2017, Florida had lost three games in the second round and a first-round game in its four tournament appearances.
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The Gators were comfortably ahead before that thanks to a hot start to the second half, however. As Maryland moved to cut off Florida’s perimeter players from getting to the paint, Terps defenders seemed to leave Rueben Chinyelu wide open. He scored three easy baskets in less than two minutes as Florida built out a 52-42 lead with 15:22 to go.
Maryland cut the lead to six briefly at 55-49 but Florida took over from there.
It was an ugly first half for the Gators after they turned the ball over 13 times. Five different players had two turnovers as the Gators simply couldn’t hold onto the ball. Yet Florida still led by two at halftime. That was a bad sign for Maryland.
Florida played much of the game without forward Alex Condon after he turned his right ankle in the first half. Condon immediately hopped off the court after he reinjured the same ankle he sprained against Mississippi State in February. After he got the all clear from precautionary X-rays, he returned to the game with 13:29 to go in the second half after sitting out for nearly 15 minutes.
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Six different Gators scored in double figures as Condon was hobbled and had six points in 15 minutes. Will Richard led Florida with 15 points and was 3-of-6 from the 3-point line. It was hardly a performance like Alabama’s against BYU on Thursday night, but Florida finished 11-of-27 from behind the arc.
Maryland’s Derik Queen led all scorers with 27 points and was 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. But just four Terrapins scored points and a bench player somehow didn’t even take a single shot until there was less than 30 seconds to go and Maryland had subbed out its starters.
Thursday night’s game may also be the last for Maryland coach Kevin Willard if he leaves for Villanova. Willard has been mentioned as a possible candidate at Villanova and has been outspoken throughout March Madness about the resources available at Maryland.
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