Florida Gators Shock Michigan in Double OT Win: 106-101
- Franz Beard
- Dec 20, 2023
- 5 min read
The Florida Gators endured another night when they could have earned a union card for all the bricks they laid from both the 3-point and foul lines. The Gators were a dismal 8-29 from 3-point range (27.6 percent) and they threw up 11 SCUDS in 29 attempts from the foul line (62.1 percent). Additionally, the Gators turned the ball over 16 times and missed 16 of their 34 layups. Defensively, the Gators had few answers for a waterbug named Dug McDaniel and they gave up way too many barely contested 3-pointers.
Under most circumstances, that would be a recipe for disaster, but these are the Florida Gators we are talking about and they are a resilient bunch who, if given enough time, seem to figure out a pathway to victory. Tuesday night at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, it took two overtimes of constant grinding, but when the final horn sounded, Florida (8-3) walked away with a 106-101 win over Michigan (6-6).
“I’m just really proud of our team,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “They’ve done a really good job of executing and doing what we’re asking them to do. This should give us a lot of confidence as we move forward, as we get in these tough, highly-contested games against really good clubs that we can find a way to win.”
Finding a way to win required persistence because nothing seemed to come easy for the Gators. They struggled to defend the 3-point line where Michigan hit 10-22 shots and it seemed there was no stopping McDaniel, who scored on whoever Golden assigned to him. McDaniel hit three 3-pointers, 12-13 from the foul line and finished with 33 points. Olivier Nkamhoua, who used to wear the Gators out when he was a Tennessee Vol, had 24 points with nine coming on 3-5 shooting from the 3-point line.
While the Vols seemed to rain threes, the Gators specialized in banging shots off the rims but while first shots missed on a regular basis, the Gators did collect 21 offensive rebounds, which were turned into 18 second half points. Although the Gators struggled mightily from the outside, they killed the Wolverines in the paint for a whopping 60-38 margin. The Gators finished the game with 54 rebounds and further dominated the inside with 10 blocked shots.
Mr. Clutch was point guard Zyon Pullin, whose 22 points included a 3-point halfcourt heave that gave the Gators a 38-37 lead at the intermission and another 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds to go that sent the game into the second overtime. Pullin finished with five rebounds, six assists and a steal and his 8-10 night at the foul line included 7-8 in the second half.
Pullin’s 3-ball that sent the game to the second overtime was the result of a second chance opportunity. Michigan took an 89-86 lead with 21 seconds to go on a pair of McDaniel free throws. After a 30-second time out with 18.9 seconds to go, Walter Clayton Jr.’s 3-ball caromed off the rim but Tyrese Samuel emerged from a pack of three Wolverines with the ball. He turned and found Pullin to the left of the key and his 3-pointer found the bottom of the net.
Michigan still had a chance to win the game, but Amari Burnett’s 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go misfired.
Once in the second overtime, the Gators fell behind 93-91, but they rattled off 11 straight points to put the game away. Clayton, who struggled through regulation and the first overtime, saved his best for last, scoring seven of his 12 points including a dagger of a three with 47 seconds to go for a 102-93 lead. Although the Wolverines hit back-to-back 3-pointers to close the gap to four with 16.7 seconds left, the Gators were able to put the game away.
Florida spent a good portion of the first half playing catch-up. The Gators trailed by as many as eight points and didn’t get their first lead until a Micah Handlogten dunk with 3:32 left for a 31-30 margin. Michigan held a 37-35 lead when McDaniel threw the ball away trying to lob the ball over Alex Condon. Condon picked the ball off and his outlet found Pullin streaking toward midcourt. Pullin caught the ball on the bounce and let it fly from just inside the halfcourt line with the ball banking into the basket for a 38-37 Florida lead.
Michigan built a 55-46 lead with 15:06 left in the game when the Gators got into an offensive rhythm. It was a pull-up three on a fast break by Will Richard with 13:41 to go that cut Michigan’s lead to 57-53. At the 9:57 mark, Thomas Haugh tied the game at 63-63 on a 3-pointer. A Pullin layup and free throw with 7:19 left gave the Gators their first lead since the 18:26 mark at 68-65.
Florida was able to build an 81-77 lead with 59 seconds to go when Richard scored on a layup and free throw, but Burnett scored to cut the margin to two. The Wolverines got the ball back on the alternating possession rule when Clayton was trapped in the corner on UF’s inbounds pass. Nkamhoua tied it up with 12 seconds to go, dunking back a miss by McDaniel. Florida got the last shot to try to win in regulation, but Condon’s 3-pointer missed at the buzzer.
This win should move the Gators close to the top 50 in the all-important NCAA Net Rankings.
“A neutral site game against a team that’s going to be playing for an NCAA Tournament bid,” Golden said. “I know their win-loss record isn’t great, but they’ve played one of the toughest schedules in America and they played a lot of those teams really, really close. So we knew this was going to be a big challenge for us. Obviously, this is going to be a Quad 1 or Quad 2 win. We have three of those right now. At this point last year, we had zero of them. So you can see some of the growth in our program in some of the areas where we’re covering ground.”
Game notes: In addition to Pullin, the Gators had four others in double figures with Samuel finishing the night with 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and a steal. Richard finished with 17 points including 15 in the second half. Condon had 14 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal and Clayton had 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Handlogten had nine points, nine rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. The 7-1 Marshall transfer also hit a 3-pointer. He’s now 4-4 from distance this season.
The Gators return to action Friday against Grambling in a 4 p.m. game at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. After Grambling the Gators will be off for a week before returning to action at the O-Dome against Quinnipiac.
SEC basketball
Tuesday’s scores: FLORIDA (8-3) 106, Michigan (6-6) 101, 2 OT; No. 25 Ole Miss (11-0) 74, Troy (5-6) 53; South Carolina (10-1) 72, Winthrop (8-5) 62; Western Carolina (9-2) 63, Vanderbilt (4-7) 62
Wednesday’s games: Mount St. Mary’s (4-6) at Georgia (7-3); Alabama (6-4) vs. No. 4 Arizona (8-1) at Phoenix
Thursday’s games: No. 9 Kentucky (8-2) at Louisville (5-6); Tarleton State (8-3) at No. 8 Tennessee (8-3); Abilene Christian (5-6) at Arkansas (7-4); Lamar (5-6) at LSU (6-5)
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