At the Buzzer: Florida 81, Mississippi State 78 (Instant Analysis)
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 81, MISSISSIPPI STATE 78
WHAT HAPPENED: Center John Egbunu, struggling mightily from the free throw line the last nine games, went 4-for-4 in the final minute and the UF defense stiffened just enough down the stretch to hold off the upset-minded Bulldogs to allow the Gators to hold home court in a key Southeastern Conference game Tuesday night at the O'Connell Center. The win was even harder than it may sound, actually, as the Gators had to overcome an 11-point second-half deficit to avoid what would have been a crushing defeat against the SEC last-place and winless team. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith led UF with 20 points and 13 rebounds, recording his third straight double-double and fourth in five games. Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen added 19 points, including a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left to help seal it. Egbunu finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
WHAT IT MEANS: UF has its first two-game winning streak against high-major teams this season. More importantly, it's a two-game streak in the SEC and kept the Gators firmly in the upper half of the league standings at this early juncture of the 2015-16 campaign. A loss would have been punishing, as MSU came into the game not only winless in SEC play, but ranked 144th in the Ratings Percentage Index, the lowest-ranked team in the league.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Egbunu had made just 15 of his previous 43 free throws over 10 games -- that's 34.8 percent -- when he stepped to the line and canned two big ones with exactly one minute left to give UF a 77-76 lead. After MSU guard Craig Sword gave the Bulldogs the lead with a driving layup, the Bulldogs fouled Egbunu with 41.3 seconds remaining -- and he knocked down two more. Big John was clutch Tuesday.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: After going 9-for-21 from the 3-point line, the Gators have now made at least nine treys in all but one of their six SEC games. A team that seemingly could not buy a long-range jumper in non-conference play is now shooting 38.3 percent from distance against its league foes.
UP NEXT: The Gators (12-6, 4-2) have a second straight home game Saturday night against Auburn (8-8, 2-3). The Tigers, who upset Kentucky over the weekend, have a late Tuesday night home game against rival Alabama.
FLORIDA 81, MISSISSIPPI STATE 78
WHAT HAPPENED: Center John Egbunu, struggling mightily from the free throw line the last nine games, went 4-for-4 in the final minute and the UF defense stiffened just enough down the stretch to hold off the upset-minded Bulldogs to allow the Gators to hold home court in a key Southeastern Conference game Tuesday night at the O'Connell Center. The win was even harder than it may sound, actually, as the Gators had to overcome an 11-point second-half deficit to avoid what would have been a crushing defeat against the SEC last-place and winless team. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith led UF with 20 points and 13 rebounds, recording his third straight double-double and fourth in five games. Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen added 19 points, including a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left to help seal it. Egbunu finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
WHAT IT MEANS: UF has its first two-game winning streak against high-major teams this season. More importantly, it's a two-game streak in the SEC and kept the Gators firmly in the upper half of the league standings at this early juncture of the 2015-16 campaign. A loss would have been punishing, as MSU came into the game not only winless in SEC play, but ranked 144th in the Ratings Percentage Index, the lowest-ranked team in the league.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Egbunu had made just 15 of his previous 43 free throws over 10 games -- that's 34.8 percent -- when he stepped to the line and canned two big ones with exactly one minute left to give UF a 77-76 lead. After MSU guard Craig Sword gave the Bulldogs the lead with a driving layup, the Bulldogs fouled Egbunu with 41.3 seconds remaining -- and he knocked down two more. Big John was clutch Tuesday.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: After going 9-for-21 from the 3-point line, the Gators have now made at least nine treys in all but one of their six SEC games. A team that seemingly could not buy a long-range jumper in non-conference play is now shooting 38.3 percent from distance against its league foes.
UP NEXT: The Gators (12-6, 4-2) have a second straight home game Saturday night against Auburn (8-8, 2-3). The Tigers, who upset Kentucky over the weekend, have a late Tuesday night home game against rival Alabama.
Players Mentioned
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