Florida eliminates two-time defending champ UCONN

RALEIGH, N.C. — For 30 minutes, UConn showed the mettle and toughness that delivered back-to-back national championships for Dan Hurley, outplaying top-seeded Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. And then Walter Clayton Jr. took over. The Gators' first-team All-America guard scored 13 of his 23 points in the final eight minutes Sunday, including two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch, and Florida rallied to a scintillating 77-75 victory over the Huskies, ending UConn's pursuit of a third straight title. Florida (32-4) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Maryland in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco. "This is a great win for our program," coach Todd Golden said. "The time was now for us to take that next step. Again, Florida basketball, back where it belongs. Being in the Sweet 16 is a great step in the right direction... We made winning play after winning play down the stretch in the last six minutes." There's little doubt about that. But they also had help from the Huskies, who made some uncharacteristic mistakes, including twice allowing the Gators to corral offensive rebounds off missed free throws, resulting in four second-chance points. The Huskies (24-11) came in with modest outside expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half. During his postgame news conference, Hurley struggled several times to hold back tears. "This was just historic run that these guys have been on and the guys that have worn the uniform the past couple years," Hurley said. "If it's going to come to an end for us, I wouldn't have wanted it to be in a game where we lost to a lower seed. "There's some honor, I guess, in the way that this went down." UConn was seeking to become the first team to three-peat since UCLA's run of seven straight titles from 1967-73. The Huskies won the 2023 title in Houston and last year in Glendale, Arizona, joining Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only schools to win back-to-back since the Bruins' run under John Wooden. Florida entered the game as a 9 1/2-point favorite and ranked No. 1 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency by scoring 128.9 points per 100 possessions, and the Gators of the powerful Southeastern Conference joined fellow 1-seed Duke as the only teams to rank in the top 10 on both sides of the ball, making them a popular pick to cut down the nets. But the Huskies' defense stymied Clayton and company for most of the game, holding Florida to 35% shooting through the first 30 minutes to build a 52-46 lead. The Gators chipped away and then Clayton showed why he's one of the best players in the country. He made a 3 from the right wing with 2:54 left to put Florida ahead 62-61, and teammate Will Richard followed with a steal and dunk. Clayton's 3 from the same spot with 1:06 left made it 70-64 — part of a 14-3 run that gave Florida an eight-point advantage with 40 seconds left. Champs battle to the buzzerEven when Florida seemed to have the game in hand, UConn kept fighting. Thomas Haugh's two free throws with 5.9 seconds left pushed the Gators' lead to five to seal the win. Hurley watched, arms folded, standing on the sideline as Liam McNeeley's 3-pointer at the buzzer sailed skyward and dropped through the net as the horn sounded. Afterward, Clayton thanked his teammates for believing in him after his rough start. "We knew this game wasn't going to be easy," Clayton said. "(UConn) has got a championship pedigree, back-to-back champions. That's a great team. They had that experience. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. We kept our composure." McNeeley led UConn with 22 points, and Alex Karaban scored 14. Alijah Martin contributed 18 points for Florida and Richard had 15. TakeawaysUConn: A major rebuild is in store for the Huskies, who struggled to replace losing four starters to the NBA last season. Florida: The Gators took a huge step forward. Golden has resurrected the program in a span of three years, but he had never won a March Madness game before this year. Duke 89, Baylor 66 RALEIGH, N.C. — Tyrese Proctor had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor 89-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils, the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. Proctor made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s. Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for Baylor. Kentucky 84, Illinois 75 MILWAUKEE — Koby Brea matched a career-high with 23 points and Kentucky beat Illinois 84-75 on Sunday to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend for the first time since they reached the Elite Eight in 2019. Kentucky, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 2 seed and Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats have already beaten the Volunteers twice this season. Coach Mark Pope led the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in his first season after never winning a March Madness game with BYU. He joins the Wildcats' former coach, John Calipari, who's in the Sweet 16 with Arkansas. Alabama 80, Saint Mary's 66 CLEVELAND — Alabama thundered past Saint Mary's 80-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide reached the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive year behind a steady stream of alley-oop dunks that caught the Gaels flat-footed. Chris Youngblood led the second-seeded Crimson Tide with 13 points. Six players finished in double figures for Alabama, including forward Grant Nelson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds after sitting out the majority of a first-round game against Robert Morris due to a knee injury. Saint Mary's shot just 25% from the field in the first half and never got closer than eight points over the final 25 minutes. Maryland 72, Colorado St. 71 SEATTLE — Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, and Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 in a thriller, beating Colorado State 72-71 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Jalen Lake drilled a rainbow 3-pointer with six seconds left for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which was seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to advance to a regional semifinal in this edition of March Madness. The Terrapins advanced to face the West Region's No. 1 seed, Florida, in San Francisco. Queen led fourth-seeded Maryland with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 as each of Maryland's starters known as the "Crab Five" scored in double figures. Mississippi 91, Iowa State 78 MILWAUKEE — Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield had 19 and Mississippi beat Iowa State 91-78 to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. Mississippi is one of seven Southeastern Conference schools still standing, the most teams any conference has sent to the third round in one season. Ole Miss fans started chanting "SEC!" with over 5½ minutes left and the game well out of reach. Next up for the sixth-seeded Rebels is second-seeded Michigan State in a South Region semifinal Friday in Atlanta. Michigan State 71, New Mexico 63 CLEVELAND — Jaden Akins scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer that put Michigan State ahead to stay, and coach Tom Izzo took the Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time with a 71-63 victory over New Mexico. Izzo has 58 wins in the NCAA Tournament, tied for fourth in a coaching career with John Calipari and the retired Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer has taken the Spartans to March Madness 27 times. Tre Holloman added 14 points for second-seeded Michigan State, which will face Mississippi in a South Region semifinal in Atlanta on Friday. Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points for New Mexico. Oregon vs. Arizona Story to follow