Slow start, fast finish propels Gators into the Elite Eight game

Denzel Aberdeen drives to the rack against Texas Tech (UAA Photo by Maddie Washburn)

SAN FRANCISCO – The game was already trending in Florida’s direction barely three minutes into the second half when things changed once and for all. On consecutive possessions, Rueben Chinyelu nearly ripped the rim off the backboard on dunks, the first after a nice slip pass along the baseline from Alijah Martin, the second on a nifty pass from Walter Clayton Jr.

Florida’s 46-42 lead expanded to 50-42 and Maryland coach Kevin Willard burned a time out. The clock showed 16:22 remaining, but the body language of the Terps said it all. This game was over.

“I think that was a moment where we might have started wearing them down a little bit,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the No. 1 seeded Gators (33-4) advanced to a Saturday West Regional Elite Eight game with Texas Tech (6:09 p.m., TBS) by taking out Maryland 87-71 in a Sweet 16 game at the Chase Center. “We were making them chase us. Again, we were valuing the basketball so we were making them guard for the majority of the shot clock and we were able to get some slips on the pick-and-roll for Rueben. He did a great job catching the ball in tight spaces and dunking it and we were able to keep our foot on the gas that way.”

In the aftermath of those two dunks, the Gators took complete control. Chinyelu made it six straight points when he scored a layup on a pass from Tommy Haugh that gave Florida its first 10-point lead at 52-42. There was a 13-2 run begun on a short jumper by Denzel Aberdeen and a 3-point play by Martin that stretched it out to 74-56 with 7:09 left.

The Gators were clearly starting to look like a team that can win a national championship. Maryland was looking like a team that couldn’t get out of San Francisco fast enough.

In many ways, this game followed a familiar script for the Gators, who won their 27th game of the season by 10 or more points. They endured a sluggish first half, slowed down by way too many turnovers (13) and far too many personal fouls (11) that allowed the Terps to live at the foul line (12-15 in the first half compared to 6-6 for the Gators).

Complicating matters was an ankle injury to Alex Condon, who left the game with at 12:16 remaining in the first half and the Gators leading 15-9. Florida expanded that lead to 20-9 on a 3-pointer by Will Richard and a baby hook by Chinyelu with 10:46 to go in the half.

Condon’s absence had the Gators playing tentatively in the paint at both ends of the court. The Gators turned the ball over eight times in the final 10 minutes plus there was foul trouble for Chinyelu (2 fouls), Haugh (2) and Micah Handlogten (3). Maryland went 10-10 from the foul line in the final 10 minutes of the half. Over that same span, the Gators turned it over eight more times.

The Gators were down, 30-27, when Richard, Clayton and Martin took over the offense for the final 4:54 to put Florida ahead 40-38 at the half. Richard scored on consecutive drives, Clayton went 4-4 from the foul line and Martin nailed a three from the top of the key. Clayton got a steal and passed the ball ahead to Richard for a layup and Florida’s final two points of the half.

Given the uncharacteristic 13 first half turnovers and Maryland’s advantage at the foul line, Florida’s halftime lead was quite surprising.

“We were able to go into halftime with the lead even though we had 13 turnovers in the first half,” Golden said. “Once we got there we were able to recalibrate a little bit and the message was simple: We’ve got to keep defending, obviously continue to stay aggressive on the glass but we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. If we didn’t do that, we would have put ourselves in jeopardy of going home tonight.”

In the second half, the Gators turned it over only four times of which Maryland converted into five points. Defensively, the Gators went into lock-down mode, holding the Terps to just 11-28 from the field overall and only 2-9 from the 3-point line. Florida outrebounded Maryland 21-10 in the second half.

Condon came back to play in the second half, which provided an emotional lift but in his absence Aberdeen, Haugh and Handlogten give important minutes off the bench. Aberdeen scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Haugh had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal, finishing the game with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one blocked shot and two steals. Handlogten had two points, three rebounds and a steal.

Florida’s productivity off the bench proved critical. The Gators had 29 for the game, 22 in the second half. Maryland, which basically goes with a 5-man rotation, had only three for the entire game. Maryland’s two big guys – Julian Reese (12) and Derik Queen (27) – scored a lot of points but with no relief off the bench Florida’s big guys wore them out.

It was the combination of depth and elimination of turnovers that proved the end of Maryland’s road in the Sweet 16. For the Gators, it was just another game in which there was a defining moment when the switches flipped and suddenly the other team was no match. Florida played a below average first half but still had the lead. The Gators broke the game open in the second half by playing at a very high level on both ends of the court.

“We were elite in the second half,” Golden said. “We did a great job of staying aggressive, handling their pressure and their quickness and their length. Our defense stayed consistent. We were awesome on the glass all night, both sides of the ball and we started taking advantage of the opportunities we got in transition. That allowed us to step on the gas a bit and break away from them.”

Slow start, fast finish. By now we should be accustomed to those kind of games from the Gators, who will face Texas Tech, which beat Arkansas 85-83 in overtime to reach Saturday’s Elite Eight game.

“We started slow, not taking care of the ball,” Chinyelu said after scoring 10 to go with eight rebounds. “In order to achieve what we have to, we have to take care of the ball, love the ball because it is precious. Just being able to get back to loving that, and know that, okay, this is my cake. I need to hold it real tight."

Besides Aberdeen, Haugh and Chinyelu, the Gators got double figures scoring from Clayton, Richard and Martin. Clayton, who didn't take a shot in the second half, focused on playmaking in the final 20 minutes. He finished the game with 13 points, one rebound, four assists and a steal. Richard finished with 14 points four rebounds and three assists, while Martin finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.

For the game, the Gators shot an even 50 percent from the field (30-60) and 39.3 percent (11-28) from the 3-point line. The Gators outrebounded Maryland 42-20, which led to a 21-9 advantage on second chance points.

Game notes: This will be the 11th time the Gators have made the Elite Eight game, 10th officially since the 1988 Elite Eight was vacated by the NCAA … This was Florida’s 9th win over a top 25 team this season and the Gators sixth in the month of March … Texas Tech (28-8) made its only Elite Eight in school history in 2019, the same year the Red Raiders advanced to the Final Four … Clayton, Richard and Martin have all scored more than 500 points this season … The Gators have won nine straight games, 15 of their last 16. Florida is averaging 91.3 points per game in the month of March.