Welcome to SECTalk.com

Welcome to SECTalk.com -- The Home of 6 Straight National Titles!

You are currently accessing our site as a guest which means you can't access all of our features such as social groups, sports betting, and many more. By joining our free community you will have access to all of these great features as well as to participating in our forums, contacting other members, and much more. Registration only takes a minute and SECTalk.com is absolutely free, so please join today!

If you have any problems registering or signing in, please contact us.

Gators Come Up Just Short in Upset Bid of Top-Ranked Kentucky

Started by gatoraus, Mar 10 2012 02:19 PM

This topic has been archived. This means that you cannot reply to this topic.

No replies to this topic

#1
gatoraus

Posted 10 March 2012 - 02:19 PM

Moderator

Moderators
Posts:

6,650
Joined:

Sep 2007
Cash:

0
High Fives:

627

Saturday March 10, 2012Gators Come Up Just Short in Upset Bid of Top-Ranked Kentucky

(photo courtesy U.S. Presswire)

NEW ORLEANS -- The Gators turned up the pace on Saturday against No. 1-ranked Kentucky, but in the end, the Wildcats pulled out a 74-71 win in the SEC Tournament semifinals thanks to a big second-half surge.

The loss ended Florida’s stay in New Orleans and the Gators (23-10) now must wait to learn of their NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday night.

Playing at a much faster tempo than six days earlier when the Gators lost by 20 points to Kentucky in the regular-season finale in Gainesville, Florida led by as many as 10 points (31-21) in the first half before Kentucky took its first lead on a Anthony Davis 3-pointer for a 40-39 halftime lead.

However, the Gators regained the lead early in the second half and led 56-51 with 10:42 as they tried to avoid a third loss to the Wildcats (32-1) this season. Instead, Kentucky stormed back with a 14-0 run as the Gators went more than six minutes without scoring.

Kentucky led by as many as nine points before Erik Murphy, who scored a career-high 24 points, scored seven consecutive points to bring the Gators back. Murphy’s offensive put-back with 17.3 seconds left trimmed Kentucky’s lead to 70-68 but Marquis Teague hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to 70-66 to essentially seal the win for the Kentucky.

The Wildcats have now won 24 consecutive games and will face the Vanderbilt-Ole Miss winner in the SEC Tournament championship on Sunday.

The Gators were trying to beat the nation’s No. 1-ranked team for the first time since knocking off Ohio State in the 2007 NCAA Championship game. But the Wildcats were too much down the stretch, outrebounding UF 36-22.

Check back at GatorZone.com later for complete coverage from New Orleans.