Florida Gators

WHAT HAPPENED: They had to withstand a furious rally, but the 10th-seeded Gators made some big shots and enough free throws in the final 90-plus seconds to upset the seventh-seeded and 14th-ranked Wolf Pack in opening-round play of the NCAA Tournament West Region at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Senior center Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, but had to watch anxiously from the bench as his team closed out the hard-charging and pressing Wolf Pack. UF, behind a red-hot start to the second half, shot to an 18-point lead over the Mountain West Conference champions with 14 minutes left, but the Pack starting slowly chipping away -- then did a rapid-fire hack job on the Gators' lead with a 9-0 burst, mostly with full-court pressure that UF neither could handle nor finish against it. When Cody Martin converted old-time 3-point play, Nevada trailed just 58-55 wih 5:12 to. Twice the Pack cut the lead to just two, the second time when twin brother Caleb Martin hit two free throws with 2:02 to play. But UF freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard drove for a layup and 65-61 lead. After Tre'Shawn Thurman was short on game-tying 3 attempt, backup center Dontay Bassett thundered home a two-handed slam dunk to keep the margin at two possessions with 47.1 seconds left and the Pack did not score again. Hayes went 5-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Fifth-year senior Jalen Hudson had 15 points in 36 minutes, freshman forward Keyontae Johnson had his third double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in the last four games, senior shooting guard KeVaughn Allen had 10 points (all in the second half) and Nembhard had a mostly-steady performance in scoring eight points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing five assists to just two turnovers. The Martins combined for 42 points to lead Nevada, which shot just 27.3 percent in the second half. 
 
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators will be one of 32 still playing this weekend, having advanced out of the tournament's first round for the seventh straight time and thus avoiding the program's first one-and-out exit since 2010. On Saturday, UF will play for a spot in the Sweet 16. Historically, Florida improved 44-17 all-time in the tournament, including 5-2 under Coach Mike White. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Hayes, in foul trouble throughout the second half, played like a senior with his career on the line. He gets to keep playing because of it. And take a bow, Dontay! After taking over for the foul-out Hayes, you had yourself a nice NCAA Tournament moment. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Nevada came into the game averaging 80.7 points per game and ranked 25th in the country in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. The Wolf Pack's point total was 23 less than their average, as their race to pace proved no match for a Florida defense ranked 15th in the country and an offense hell-bent on keeping the tempo to its liking. 

UP NEXT: Florida (20-15) will await the outcome of the late Thursday game between No. 2 seed Michigan (28-6) and No. 15 seed Montana (26-8), with the Gators facing the winner of that one in Saturday's regional second-round action. Tip-off time to be determined.