Image Credit: Associated Press
The game was over. Star big man Nigel Hayes hit two free throws with four seconds remaining in overtime to put the eight-seed Wisconsin Badgers up two on the four-seed Florida Gators in the Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
And then Chris Chiozza happened.
With no timeouts and the entire game on the line, Chiozza took the inbounds pass and drove all the way to a couple inches in front of Wisconsin’s three-point line, hoisted up an off-balance floater from beyond the arc and drained it to send the Gators into the Elite Eight just minutes before 1 a.m. ET.
EXTRA CHEESE! Chris Chiozza sends Florida #Gators into Elite Eight with OVERTIME BUZZER-BEATING THREE. 🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊🧀🐊 pic.twitter.com/vSPgSbaboS
— Only Gators .com (@onlygators) March 25, 2017
The junior point guard’s game-winning three came just seconds after he hit a layup to tie the game prior to Hayes’ free throws. That was made possible by an incredible chase down block by graduate transfer G Canyon Barry, who wiped a potential two-score game off the board with an incredible hustle play.
Rewind … Canyon Barry with a CHASE-DOWN BLOCK. #Gators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/Duf8AFxmAF
— Only Gators .com (@onlygators) March 25, 2017
Barry was a late substitution in the game by head coach Mike White, who chose to pull senior PG Kasey Hill after a couple poor plays and missed free throws.
The end result is Florida improving to 9-1 all-time in Sweet 16 games and advancing to the Elite Eight out of the round for the eighth straight time. White, who had never coached in the NCAA Tournament before this year, improves to 3-0 and now has both a one-point overtime win and 26-point blowout under his belt.
UF will face seven-seed South Carolina on Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET. The Gators and Gamecocks split the regular-season series with each team winning decisively at home.