Florida Gators
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Kansas
No. 1 Men's Basketball Falls To No. 10 Kansas, 82-80
Sunday, November 26, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Junior guard Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored a season-high 25 points to lead a quartet of Gators in double figures, but the No. 1 University of Florida men's basketball team (6-1) fell to 10th-ranked Kansas in overtime, 82-80, on Saturday in the final round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Gators overcame a 37-31 halftime deficit against Kansas, forcing overtime on a tip-in by junior forward Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) that tied the score at 70 with three seconds remaining. Noah scored 12 of his 17 points after the break, including 10 of the 16 points that UF managed with less than five minutes to play in regulation.
Senior guard Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) scored six points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc in the extra frame, but Kansas' Brandon Rush converted a layup that proved to be the game-winner with 26 seconds left to play. Junior forward Corey Brewer's (Portland, Tenn.) three-point attempt at the buzzer came up just short.
Green finished with 25 points and five rebounds in 43 minutes – all season highs – versus the Jayhawks, while Noah tallied 17 points and four boards in 33 minutes of work. Humphrey connected on 4-of-9 shots from three-point distance en route to a season-high 16 points, and Brewer round out the group of Gators in double figures with 11 points on the night.
Junior center Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) paced Florida with eight rebounds to go along with his nine points. Brewer and senior forward Chris Richard (Lakeland, Fla.) tied for the team high with three assists, and the former added two steals in the contest.
UF shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the field, including a 34.6 percent clip (9-of-26) from long distance, against Kansas. The Gators collected 35 rebounds – 17 of which came on the offensive glass – to complement five steals and four blocked shots on the defensive end.
Florida will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when it returns to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for a bout with Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised by Sun Sports.
-UF-
