After dropping the three final regular season games the Gators entered the SEC tournament on a low note, but were able to turn things around behind a big day from freshman forward Keyontae Johnson and defeat Arkansas 66-50 to advance to play top-seeded LSU Friday.
There were questions raised about whether or not Florida would be able to remain as an NCAA tournament team after dropping three in a row, but they were able to answer in a big way and make a big statement with a victory Thursday.
Johnson led the way for the Gators with 20 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double as a freshman. keVaughn Allen stepped up once again against Arkansas, dropping 17 points on 6-14 shooting.
Jalen Hudson (7 points, 6 rebounds) and Kevarrius (8 points, 7 rebounds) both were key contributors throughout the game as well and point guard Andrew Nembhard, while only scoring six points dished out eight assists as the floor general for the Gators.
As a team Florida won with it’s rebounding, something they rarely do at their size. However, against Arkansas they outrebounded them 40-26 and more than doubling them in offensive rebounds (19-9).
The game began as a back and forth affair as both teams settled into the conference tournament and felt each other out. Johnson broke through to start for the Gators with a quick five points and the game was tied five minutes in.
As the Razorbacks grew more comfortable though the pace grew, which is not Florida’s game. Arkansas was able to utilize its speed and pushed out to a 17-9 lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the half.
The Razorbacks were finding high-percentage shots down low and hitting their fair share of jumpers, leading to a solid 60 percent field goal percentage.
However, the Gators would claw their way back into the game behind some solid shooting and lockdown defense. With 7:49 left Locke hit a jumper to make it a 19-17 game.
Arkansas would continue to answer but that’s when Allen decided to come to life, going on a 7-4 by himself to keep it a one-point game and when Bassett hit a layup with 4:32 left off a beautiful pass from Nembhard the Gators took the lead 26-25.
The rest of the half was back and forth, but Florida wouldn’t relinquish the lead and went into the break up 30-28.
The second half began similarly to how the first half did. Both teams were scoring but in very different ways. The Gators were going in and out and multiple guys found the bottom of the net while Arkansas went down low to Gafford.
The talented big man dropped all six points for the Razorbacks in the first four minutes, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead as the Gators still held the edge 38-34 with 15:54 left in the game.
The next five minutes were ugly. Neither team would hit another field goal until Hayes put it in the bucket with 11:05 on the clock to give Florida the 45-39 edge. Both teams would manage though by staying aggressive and earning trips to the free throw line.
Neither the Gators nor Razorbacks seemed to be able to figure out the other, but after Mason Jones hit a three to cut it to a two-point game 45-42 it looked as if this game would simply come down to the wire, but that’s when the Gators started to elevate their game.
Allen hit a three then Johnson hit a layup to make it a 52-44 lead with just under five to go. Florida would continue to stay solid defensively as well. Allen hit a pair of free throws and a layup to and Johnson hit another jumper.
The two combined for 37 points on the day and led the way down the crucial stretch, stretching the lead to double-digits with 3:20 left. After Nembhard hit his first field goal of the game on a triple with 2:39 remaining to give Florida the 61-48 lead the nails were all but hammered into the coffin.
Johnson hit a three for good measure with 39 seconds remaining to finalize the first-round victory. As a team, the Gators went 8-22 from deep (36.4%), which isn’t great but doubled the Razorbacks up in threes made.
Next up Mike White’s squad will take on top-seeded LSU Friday at one p.m. Eastern time in the second round.
It isn’t for certain but the Tigers are most likely going to be without their head coach Will Wade as he is currently suspended for his alleged FBI wiretap that revealed him discussing a recruiting offer.
The Tigers could also be without a key contributor in Javonte Smart due to injury. He will be a game-time decision.
