Florida 57, Kansas State 44: Gators Upset No. 6 Wildcats In Orange Bowl Classic

After starting hot in South Florida, Kansas State went ice-cold and fell to Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida, 57-44.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Kansas State coach Frank Martin — Martin went to Florida International and coached high school teams in Miami for almost 15 years — and it started very well for his Wildcats. They held Florida scoreless for the first 7:02 of play, and built early 12-2 and 20-8 leads.

But then the Gators locked down on defense, and K-State had no answers.

The Wildcats shot a miserable 26.8% from the field for the game, and Jacob Pullen, who led all scorers with 19 points, was the only Wildcat in double figures. Kansas State made just three of 19 three-point attempts, and scored 10 of its 21 second half points in the last four minutes of play; Florida took a double-digit advantage on a Kenny Boynton three-pointer with over seven minutes left and would not relinquish it.

Boynton had 15 points for Florida, and was joined in double figures by Erving Walker (13 points) and Vernon Macklin (10 points).

The win pushes the Gators to 8-2 on the season, and drops Kansas State to 9-2. It is also Florida’s first victory over a ranked team since a win over Tennessee in February.