Going into their game with No. 1 Michigan State on Saturday, the Florida Gators knew their effort and execution would need to be at midseason level to have a chance for the upset. Making a fair amount of shots would help, too.
Florida put forth a strong effort and committed only eight turnovers against a good Spartan defense. Unfortunately, far too few shots fell for the Gators, allowing Michigan State to escape with a 58-52 victory in East Lansing, Mich.
Despite shooting only 33 percent and playing most of the game without their second leading scorer, John Egbunu, the Gators went toe-to-toe with the Spartans until the very end. Egbunu, who averages 12.9 points per game, was limited because of foul trouble and was held scoreless.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 13 points for the Gators, as did Kasey Hill off the bench. Chris Chiozza added 11 points, helped by hitting three of five from three-point range. The rest of the Gators went one for 13 from beyond the arc.
All-America candidate Denzel Valentine led Michigan State in scoring with 17 points while Bryn Forbes had 12. The Gator defense held the Spartans to 37 percent shooting. Of Michigan State’s 21 field goals, they recorded 18 assists.
Michigan State built a 7-point lead midway through the first half, but the Gators battled back to tie the game at 23 on two Finney-Smith free throws with 3:35 left in the half. The Spartans led at the half, 29-27.
MSU again sprinted out to an 8-point lead early in the second half, but Florida went on an 8-0 run to tie it at 38 on a Chiozza three-pointer. Florida led by three with just under 10 minutes left on a Finney-Smith three-pointer.
Florida fans had good reason to be optimistic during a 54-second period of the second half. With the Gators trailing 46-45 with 8:14 left, they proceeded to miss four consecutive shots, but collected offensive rebounds each time, with the last coming with 7:20 left when Devin Robinson laid in a follow-shot.
The 47-46 Gator lead would be their last. Michigan State outscored Florida 12-5 the rest of the way to earn the victory.
Florida welcomes the Oklahoma State Cowboys to the O’Connell Center next Saturday.
Central Florida 75, Florida Atlantic 61
The Central Florida Knights got off to a slow start, but gained control and rolled to a 75-61 victory over Florida Atlantic in Orlando. A.J. Davis was a major force for Central Florida with 21 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. Adonys Henriquez added 13 points and Shaheed Davis had 12.
With Florida Atlantic leading 14-8, UCF went on a 7-0 run to assume the lead, and then scored the final 11 points of the first half to turn a 25-23 deficit into a 34-25 halftime lead.
The Knights slowly built the lead, spreading it to 52-34 on a layup by Davis. The Owls never got closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
Jesse Hill led Florida Atlantic with 22 points off the bench. Jackson Trapp added 15.
Central Florida has a week off before going to Detroit to take on the Titans next Saturday. Florida Atlantic travels to Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday.
