A perfect 7.5 seconds gave the Gators a perfect ending

It came down to 7.5 seconds. That’s all that separated the Florida Gators (17-10, 7-7 SEC) from the ecstasy of springing the biggest upset in O-Dome history over 2nd-ranked Auburn (24-3, 12-2 SEC) or another one of those close but no cigar losses that have plagued UF the last couple of years. Florida held the lead at 63-62 but Auburn had the basketball and a last chance to move one game closer to clinching the Southeastern Conference regular season championship.

The Tigers had the ball a few steps shy of midcourt because the Gators had failed to execute a simple inbounds pass with 9.9 seconds to go. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. tried a high lob over 7-1 Walker Kessler to Colin Castleton but it was just enough off the mark that Jabari Smith tipped the ball away. Kessler picked up the ball on the bounce to start what could have been a game-ending fast break except that Tyree Appleby cut through two Auburn guards to knock the ball way from Kessler. The clock showed 7.1 seconds remaining. It was pretty obvious the ball went out of bounds off Appleby but the zebra crew wanted to check the replay to get the time correct on the game clock. While the officials watched the monitors, Auburn huddled around Bruce Pearl for final play instructions and the Gators huddled around Mike White.

Everyone from the 11,255 in the O-Dome to the however many hundreds of thousands who were watching on ESPN expected Auburn’s first option would be Smith, the dynamic freshman who had boldly stated his case for the No. 1 pick in the summer’s NBA Draft by going off for 28 points. Smith’s range begins at the parking lot. For the day he was 4-5 on his 3-pointers. Since Smith was also 10-11 from the foul line, it didn’t take a Mensa candidate to figure out that Pearl was designing something that would free Smith for the final shot.

Down at Florida’s end of the court, Mike White was trying to come up with a plan that would not only deny Smith the ball but adequately defend everybody else.

“Coach told us not to let Jabari get the ball,” Colin Castleton said. “We knew they were going to go to their go-to guy. He had 28 points, definitely one of the best players I’ve ever played against.”

One reason the Tigers are the No. 2 team in the country is because they are experienced making game-winning shots in the final 30 seconds and it isn’t always the same guy. Smith might have been Auburn’s go-to guy in this situation but Pearl had options. Lots of them and in waterbug quick point guard Wendell Green Jr. he had the perfect triggerman to give the Tigers a chance to win the game. Put the ball in Green’s hands and see who popped open. It’s a strategy that has been working so why change now?

White was well aware that once Green had the ball, the whole court opened up and there was no shortage of shot makers.

“We thought they would go Wendell Green with a ball screen or a quick elbow isolation for Jabari—he had so much success of course – but short clock and obviously with the middle ball screen there are so many different options that can take place who may end up taking the shot,” White explained.

So many options. Defending them all would require a perfect plan perfectly executed.

When play resumed, the zebras put .4 back on the clock so Auburn had 7.5 seconds, more than enough time to get the shot the Tigers wanted or get to the foul line. Green took the inbounds pass and just past midcourt, 7-1 Walker Kessler offered up a moving screen that he should have been but wasn’t whistled for (another one of those rules that is almost universally ignored in this day and age). What seemed like a traffic jam at the top of the key was exactly the way Pearl had drawn it up. A perfect pick and roll was set up with Alan Flanigan coming around Green’s back side to force a rotation that would open up a driving lane down the right side of the key.

Because of the screen Fleming had switched off on Green and Castleton had Kessler. When Green backed off a step it signaled Kessler to slip underneath. Green intended to drive to the right and either take it all the way to the hoop, dump off to Kessler for a dunk or pass to Flanigan on the right wing for an open three. Appleby rotated to take the three away from Flanigan and Fleming took Kessler down low. Castleton stepped up and wouldn’t let Green past, forcing him to kill his dribble. With no place to go, Green left his feet but Castleton went straight up, taking away the option of a three. He then tried to force a pass down low to Kessler but his awkward pass was met by Fleming who swatted the ball away.

The clock struck zero. Cinderella didn’t turn into a pumpkin because for once, the Gators executed perfectly in the final seconds. No mistakes and Florida had a 63-62 upset win that sent the packed crowd into a frenzy.

White saw the play unfold like this: “When the ball was thrown in, I thought we were in stance, we were locked in, we communicated.”

Communication was the key. When Flanigan cut behind Green, Auburn’s play was set in motion, but Castleton recognized and immediately shouted out orders that his teammates followed without the slightest hesitation

“Colin yelled under and we got under a high, flat ball screen,” White said. “We swarmed to the ball.”

Perfect execution saved the day for the Gators on that last defensive stand, but it was a lack of execution that saw the Gators blow seven points of an 8-point lead in the last 4:03 of the first half. After Myreon Jones hit a 3-ball from the corner to give the Gators a 22-14 lead, Florida hit the wall on the offensive of the court. On Florida’s final five possessions, there were four 3-point attempts, all of them SCUDs, and a turnover. Auburn scored the final seven points of the half to close the gap to 22-21 at the intermission.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Auburn took command to jump out to a 35-26 lead with 15:22 left in the game. White didn’t like what he saw of the Gators coming out of the locker room.

“We came out early second half and we just weren’t very good,” White said. “We didn’t match that same [first half] intensity. I thought that Auburn threw the first couple of punches the second half. I just thought we were stagnant offensively.”

Whereas, the first 9:30 of the second half was a struggle for the Gators, the last 10:31 belonged to Appleby. He scored six in the first half, hitting his first 3-pointer and then adding three free throws, but after that first shot there were five SCUDs plus three bad turnovers.

In the final 10:31 Appleby scored 17 of his 26 points. Auburn couldn’t guard him and when his shots began to fall, it opened up the game for everybody else. Down the stretch there were offensive contributions from Castleton, Fleming and McKissic. Fleming hit a 3-ball with the shot clock winding down and McKissic pulled the trigger on a late in the shot clock 3-pointer. Castleon, working against Auburn’s three big rotation of Kessler (7-1), Smith (6-10) and Dylan Cardwell (6-11) scored on the inside and contributed a devastating roof job block on Smith. Anthony Duruji and Niels Lane were all over the place defensively. The Gators were +16 when Duruji was on the floor, +12 with Lane.

This was Florida’s best game of the season. By no means was it the Gators’ best offensive game although those final 10 minutes were something special, particularly when Auburn’s ferocious defense is taken into account. Auburn came into the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in blocked shots and Kessler had 42 in his previous six. The Tigers blocked only one shot and none of them were by Kessler, who was worn out by Castleton, whose game was good for 19 points, eight rebounds, one assist, two steals and three blocked shots.

Defensively, there is no question this was Florida’s finest game. Auburn came into the game averaging 80.5 per game, largely because the Tigers are so successful working the ball inside-out. When there was no inside game (just 26 points in the paint despite superior size), the outside game struggled as well. Florida pressured the Tigers into 17 turnovers but it was that last turnover by Wendell Green that proved the difference in the game.

When Fleming knocked the ball pass intended for Kessler away, the O-Dome clock flatlined at zero and the O-Dome crowd erupted. The Rowdy Reptiles, who were warned numerous times that storming the court would not be tolerated, weren’t about to let the moment pass them by. Almost from the time the final horn sounded, they were climbing over the rails and pouring out onto the court. It was the first time since 1986 that the O-Dome court had been stormed.

Somewhere in the middle of all the celebratory mayhem was Tyree Appleby. This was his moment, his best game ever as a Florida Gator and it helped the Gators take down the highest-ranked opponent in O-Dome history. It was indeed a moment worth cherishing and remembering forever.

“I enjoyed myself,” Appleby said in the postgame interview room. He grinned when he said it and the grin lit up the room.