At The Buzzer: Florida 57, Arkansas 56 (Instant Analysis)
Saturday, January 31, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 57, ARKANSAS 56
WHAT HAPPENED: At Gainesville, junior guard Michael Frazier II hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds left, then sophomore guard Kasey Hil swiped the inbound pass on the final possession, as the Gators defeated the Razorbacks in a thriller for a second straight Southeastern Conference victory, much to the delight of a raucous O'Connell Center sellout crowd. The game-winning play came after Arkansas guard Anton Beard grabbed a long rebound off a missed free throw by teammate Alandise Harris and banked in a go-ahead basket with 10.7 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Florida freshman guard Chris Chiozza drove the lane and missed a runner on the right side with the clock winding down, but Frazier was there on the left side to gather the rebound, go up and get fouled.
WHAT IT MEANS: That's two straight league wins for the Gators, both of them nail-biters. This one came four days after Tuesday's 52-50 win at Alabama and kept UF floating toward the upper half of the SEC standings. What's more, Arkansas came in ranked 17th in the Ratings Percentage Index. It was Florida's first win in eight cracks against Top 50 RPI opponents.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: UF junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 16 points, including a trio of rim-rattling slam-dunks, much like he finished the Crimson Tide off with late Tuesday. He also had nine rebounds and four assists.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Florida backcourt of Frazier, Hill and Eli Carter went a combined 5-for-28 (or 17.8 percent) and Frazier had a second straight game without a 3-pointer after going 41 straight games with at least one. Somehow, the Gators won the game.
BONUS STAGGERING STATISTIC: Florida and Arkansas came into the game as the two most prolific 3-point scoring teams in the SEC. They averaged a combined 14.2 treys per game. They shot a bunch of 'em Saturday, yet went a combined 7-for-38 from deep (18.4 percent), including 2-for-17 in the second half.
UP NEXT: For the third week in a row, the Gators (12-9, 5-3) will play on Tuesday night -- and the second week in a row on the road. Florida is at Vanderbilt (11-9, 1-6) for a 9 p.m. tip at Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores play at Texas A&M late this afternoon. And, in case you weren't aware, the Gators are back home next Saturday to play No. 1-ranked Kentucky, with ESPN College GameDay announcing Saturday it was coming to O'Dome for the game.
