At the Buzzer: Florida 66, Texas A&M 62 (Instant Analysis)
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 66, SCORE 62
WHAT HAPPENED: At Gainesville, despite surrendering the game's first 10 points, the Gators awakened for a 10-point run of their own in the first half, a 14-pointer in the second half, then let the O'Connell Center fans sweat and fret the final three minutes of free-throw shooting mayhem before coming away with a second straight victory. Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill made one of two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and ice the outcome. In defeating the NCAA Tournament bait Aggies, forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Devin Robinson came off the bench to combine for 22 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Eli Carter added 11 and forward Alex Murphy nine. UF's reserves bombarded the A&M bench in points 33-11.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators won a second straight for the first time since defeating Alabama and Arkansas back-to-back in late January. UF sits in seventh place in the SEC standings and is playing for seeding in next week's league tournament at Nashville.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Normally, it's a senior on Senior Night, but popular walk-on Jake Kurtz took a wicked spill and blow to the head in the first half, causing his left eye to swell almost to the point of closing. With Kurtz sidelined for nearly all the remainder of the game, Murphy got extended minutes in the second half and dropped in all of his nine points, including a 3-pointer, a wicked transition dunk and ridiculous reverse layup in traffic, all during UF's 14-point blitz that seized command of the game.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: When A&M took a 10-0 lead to open the game, it marked the fifth time this season the Gators fell behind by double digits without scoring. Seriously. Against North Carolina in the Bahamas (12-0); at Georgia (12-0); at Vanderbilt (15-0); at LSU (12-0); and against A&M (10-0) for the first time at home. UF was 0-4 in the down-doubles scenario coming in, having retaken the lead on only one of those occasions (LSU).
STAGGERING STATISTIC II: Aggies guard Danuel House came into the game as one of the SEC's top scorers at 17.2 points per game and making 43.4 percent from the 3-point line in league play. He missed all 10 of his shots and finished with zero points.
STAGGERING STATISTIC III: Is it even staggering anymore that the Gators were horrific from the free throw line? Try 20-for-38 -- that's 52.6 percent -- with 10 misses on 18 attempts in the final two minutes when the game got far closer than it deserved to be.
UP NEXT: Florida (15-15, 8-9) wraps the regular season Saturday at top-ranked Kentucky (30-0, 17-0), which defeated Georgia Tuesday night and will look to join the 2014 Gators as the only team in SEC history to go through an 18-0 conference season and maintain their run for a perfect season.
