NCAA Tournament: No. 2 Florida Puts Away No. 7 UCLA, 73-65, To Reach Sweet 16

Ten of Walker’s 21 points came in the final four minutes, when Florida finally put UCLA away. None were bigger than the three he had to push Florida up four with 1:15 left. The Bruins went for the steal, and Walker out-jumped the UCLA played and stepped into a three-pointer to push the lead to 69-65. UCLA couldn’t score on the other end, and the Gators closed it out at the free throw line.

Florida will now play the winner of the game between No. 3 seed BYU and No. 11 seed Gonzaga later Saturday night.

In the 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket, rematches abound after the Second Round, and Third Round matchup Florida vs. UCLA in the Southeast Region is a callback to highlights of NCAA Tournaments from the mid-‘00s. It’s also the last game from Tampa on the 2011 NCAA Tournament schedule; Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel will call the game, which tips at approximately 2:45 p.m. Eastern. David Aldrige will be the sideline reporter.

Florida answered any concerns about its No. 2 seed with a 79-51 demolition of UC Santa Barbara in its Second Round game. The Gators got contributions from virtually every corner against the Gauchos: all five starters scored at least eight points, and walk-on Kyle McClanahan played in garbage time late in the second half, scoring four points. Chandler Parsons had a career-high 10 assists to go with 10 points and seven rebounds, and likely would have recorded his first career triple-double if he had not be subbed out early in the second half. So the Gators enter their Third Round matchup clicking, and also have some good memories of NCAA Tournament games against UCLA: in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, Florida defeated UCLA in the NCAA Tournament final and the Final Four, respectively, on its way to two consecutive national championships. If Parsons, Alex Tyus, and Vernon Macklin can handle the Bruins’ Joshua Smith down low, expect Billy Donovan’s squad to reach the Sweet Sixteen.