Fastbreak: No. 7 Florida outlasts No. 17 Gonzaga in double overtime at PK80

By Adam Silverstein
November 25, 2017
Fastbreak: No. 7 Florida outlasts No. 17 Gonzaga in double overtime at PK80
Basketball

Image Credit: ESPN Images

No. 7 Florida Gators basketball (5-0) needed 10 extra minutes, but it eventually outlasted the No. 17 Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-1) early Saturday morning, picking up a massive 111-105 win in the semifinals of the PK80 Motion Bracket in Portland, Oregon.

Let’s take a look at Florida’s latest victory in Fastbreak:


It was over when … The final buzzer sounded. Hoo boy, this was a game. Florida never trailed in double overtime, outscoring Gonzaga 11-4 to open the fourth period behind two three-pointers by redshirt junior guard Jalen Hudson and another from senior point guard Chris Chiozza. The seven-point advantage was reduced a bit but found again with 16 seconds to play after Hudson blocked a layup to ensure the Gators would hold on to their then-six point lead and ensure the massive victory.

Exceptional efforts: Hudson did it all on Saturday, scoring a career-high 35 points while draining 8-of-12 threes and 5-of-6 free throws. He added five rebounds and played terrific defense down the stretch, including the aforementioned block. Joining him in his outstanding play was Chiozza, who scored 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but it was a couple late threes — he went 4-for-5 from long range — along with team-highs of 10 assist and eight rebounds that also stood out. Sophomore G KeVaughn Allen had a rough shooting night (5 of 16), but he made up for it with clutch free throw shooting over the final 15 game minutes. He finished 11-for-11 from the line and scored 23 points on the evening morning.

Odds and ends: Florida scored 100+ points for the fourth time in five games this season, a school record for number of 100-point games in that span and most points scored to start a season … graduate transfer G Egor Koulechov, who had to this point arguably been UF’s best player, went 1-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in a rough performance … Gonzaga led time of possession 23:39-19:51 in a game that featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes … the Gators had 22 assists on 33 made baskets … Florida’s 17 threes were fifth most in a single game in program history … the game was extremely even from a stats perspective, though the Bulldogs outgained the Gators in the paint (52-24) though UF scored more points off the bench (14-5)

Play of the game: Hudson’s late block.

What it means: Though this was technically a neutral-site game, the capacity crowd was packed with Gonzaga fans. As such, Florida won a double-overtime road game against a ranked opponent that ended at 2:20 a.m. ET. The Gators are officially for real and have thrust themselves upon the national college basketball stage even though many fans did not get an opportunity to see the game.

Up next: Florida will get about 40 hours of rest before taking on No. 1 Duke in the finals of the PK80 Motion Bracket on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live nationally on ESPN.

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