We may have lost, but we quieted that crowd down a couple of times in the second half when we took the lead.
Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI, SFR
Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI, SFR
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Begin forwarded message:
From: Shane Ford <goufgators@bellsouth.net>
Date: December 13, 2015 at 11:30:38 AM CST
To: GatorNews <gatornews@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: Gators fall short against top-ranked Michigan State
Reply-To: gatornews+owners@googlegroups.com
--Michigan State's Deyonta Davis (23) and Eron Harris (14) and Florida's KeVaughn Allen (4) and Devin Robinson (3) vie for a rebound. Michigan State topped the Gators 58-52.Gators fall short against top-ranked Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich --- The fans at the Breslin Center were anxious. Through 35 minutes of missed shots and with starting center John Egbunu mired in foul trouble, somehow, someway, Florida scrapped its way to chance to upset No. 1 Michigan State.
But the Spartans used their experience and physicality down the stretch to knock off the Gators 58-52 before a charged crowd of 14,797.
"We obviously came up a little short, but we took a step in the right direction, and played as hard as we've played and really competed," Florida coach Mike White said.
Indeed, Florida rose to the occasion of playing the top-ranked team in the country, diving on the floor for every loose ball and tumbling into benches out of bounds to save possessions. But with the loss, Florida fell to 2-14 when facing the No. 1 team in the country.
"We had a great effort on defense," Florida sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza said. "That's just how we've got to play every game. It doesn't matter who we are playing, the number one team, not ranked."
Yet for as much effort and athleticism as the Gators showed in making it a close game, critical empty trips down the stretch proved costly.
With Florida down 54-50 and 4:06 remaining, the Gators had turnovers on three straight possessions. The first was a fast pass by Dorian Finney-Smith that went through freshman Kevarrius Hayes' hands. The second came when point guard Kasey Hill was stripped going for a drive to the basket. And the third was when Finney-Smith fumbled away a dribble on the wing.
"They were just able to out battle us, out tough us the last five or six minutes," Chiozza said.
Michigan State extended its lead to 56-50 on an offensive rebound tip in by Marvin Clark Jr. The Gators had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 55 seconds left when Hill made a driving layup in transition and was fouled. But Hill, who went 3-of-8 from the free-throw line, missed a free throw to complete the three-point play.
Then, with Florida down 56-52, Finney-Smith missed a 3-pointer in transition with 24 seconds left.
"There were a couple of times there that we considered taking a time out," White said. "We got a few decent looks we couldn't convert. But again, we're just searching on the offensive end."
Finney-Smith and Hill led Florida with 13 points apiece. Chiozza scored 11 points, all in the second half, while sophomore forward Devin Robinson had 10 points and 9 rebounds.
It was a charged atmosphere, with Michigan State's student section circling the lower bowl. At halftime, Michigan State honored its 2000 national championship basketball team that beat the Gators in the title game. Also, in the first half, the Big Ten champion Michigan State football team addressed the crowd before its trip to face Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
White made a few starting lineup changes, going with Chiozza over Hill at point guard and freshman Brandone Francis-Ramirez over KeVaughn Allen at shooting guard. Francis-Ramirez got the nod because Allen has been dealing with groin and knee tendinitis issues. Hill asked out of the starting lineup for the good of the team.
"That's something I've never seen in 16 years of coaching," White said.
The Gators hung around, despite making just 3 of their first 17 shot attempts and going 0-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half. The 6-foot-11 Egbunu was whistled for two fouls within in the first two minutes of the game, including one on a careless reach in, and sat the final 18 minutes of the first half.
Hill provided energy off the bench, and his speed was tough for Michigan State's defenders to handle. The 6-foot-1 former McDonald's All-American scored seven points in the first half, including a steal and breakaway layup that cut Michigan State's lead to 27-25 before halftime.
"I thought it was his best game, offensively, defensively," White said.
Said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo: "He was running around us, then circling back and running around us again."
But Florida had a lull to start the second half, allowing Michigan State to go on a 8-2 run to extend its lead to 35-27. That's when Chiozza heated up. The sophomore made the first of three straight 3-pointers (Florida was 0-11 at that point from beyond the arc) to cut Michigan State's lead to 35-30.
Chiozza found Devin Robinson on a pretty pass inside for a layup to cut Michigan State's lead to 38-35, then hit another 3-pointer to tie the score at 38 with 14:06 left.
"I was hoping that was going to spark us and we would build on the lead," Chiozza said. "We started out slow. We were already in a hole. It just got us back even and we couldn't keep the run going."
Eventually, Florida took a 45-42 lead when Finney-Smith made a 3-pointer with 9:52 left off a scramble possession in which Hayes got a key offensive rebound. UF's last lead, 47-46, came on a Robinson offensive rebound and putback with 7:16 left.
But Michigan State tightened up down the stretch, and Egbunu never became a factor. He fouled out with 4:24 left with 0 points, 2 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in seven minutes. With Egbunu on the bench, the Gators were compromised on the boards. Michigan State outrebounded Florida 45-34, with 16 offensive rebounds.
"We're obviously a different team with him on the floor," White said. "It was disappointing."
Star swingman Denzel Valentine led Michigan State with 17 points, but had to work for it, going 5 of 17 from the floor. Valentine hit his biggest shot late in the shot clock to put the Spartans up 53-49. Florida scored 12 points off 12 Michigan State turnovers.
"I was impressed with Florida," Izzo said. "They are going to win a lot of games this year. I think if we wouldn't have turned it over and gave up those interceptions for touchdowns, it would have widened the gap a little bit."
Sent From Shane's iPhoneGo Gators! & Skål Vikes!ALPCA #8756Europlate #1045
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1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007)
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