Going up against a seemingly underseeded BYU team, few pundits expected Florida to give the Cougars much of a game. And when BYU opened up a 13-point lead late in the second half, those predictions looked prescient.
Turnovers, Bad Decisions Do In Florida Against BYU
Two overtimes and one furious Florida rally later, it was clear that the Gators had been underestimated. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for a string of turnovers in the second half and two wasted opportunities at the end of regulation and the first overtime, Florida very easily would have been the team preparing to take on Kansas State in the second round, rather than the Cougars. SB Nation’s Florida blog, Alligator Army, broke down how it fell apart for Billy Donovan’s squad:
The Gators showed their guts, but turnovers and bad possessions did in Florida in their 99-92 double overtime loss to BYU in their NCAA Tournament first round game. Florida had two chances to win, once each in regulation and overtime, but could not convert.
Florida would not have been in position to win had it not been for Kenny Boynton's 27 points and fantastic defense against BYU's Jimmer Fredette. Boynton locked Fredette down, including holding the BYU guard scoreless in the first overtime. Boynton had a chance to win at the end of the first OT, but ran out of time and space and was forced to shoot a wild shot that had no chance of being made or rebounded. Boynton fouled out in the second OT with three assists, two rebounds and five turnovers.
Turnovers was the reason why UF found themselves down 13 points with 9:13 remaining. Florida followed great defensive possessions with Erving Walker throwing the ball out of bounds to start the second half. Chandler Parsons had the nerves get to him as he had five turnovers, including two traveling calls.
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