At the Buzzer: Florida State 65, Florida 63 (Instant Analysis)
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA STATE 65, FLORIDA 63
WHAT HAPPENED: At Tallahassee, Seminoles guard Devon Bookert put up a prayer from the corner with 2 seconds remaining and THE game tied. The ball was short of the rim, but tipped off the out-stretched hands of jumping, rebounding Gators forward Jake Kurtz and spun into the basket -- no, seriously -- with 0.4 seconds left to give FSU a stunning victory over rival UF. The bizzare outcome came after the Gators, down five with 49 seconds left, tied the game on a 3-point play by point guard Kasey Hill and lob from Hill to Dorian Finney-Smith with eight seconds to go. The Seminoles got the ball into their halfcourt and called timeout with 2.6 seconds remaining to set up the wild ending. FSU was led by 17 points from guard Montay Brandon.
WHAT IT MEANS: The worst start possible to UF's return from the holiday break. The Gators had won four straight heading into the game -- and four straight in their series against the Seminoles -- but now have all kinds of issues with just a week to go before opeing the Southeastern Conference season and a big one in between.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Hill was one few bright spots for the Gators. He not only ran the team, but he showed an aggression and ability to finish that had been missing most of the season. He finished with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, made all three of his free throws, grabbed four rebounds and had three assists.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: UF's returned to its struggling shooting ways from the 3-point line, hitting just four of 19 attempts for 21.1 percent, including 0-for-5 from freshman forward Devin Robinson. That was worse than FSU (23.5), who came into the game shooting a woeful 24.4 percent from distance for the season. Can also throw turnovers in there. UF had a season-worse 17.
UP NEXT: Florida (7-5) is home Saturday for its much-anticipated rematch with defending national champion Connecticut (5-4), which like the Gators looks nothing like the team that defeated UF in the Final Four last April. The Huskies have a date with Temple in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, then it's on to Gainesville.
