NCAA Tournament Scores: Florida Leads UCLA 35-33 At Halftime

Through one half of the 2011 NCAA Tournament’s first rematch of a previous NCAA Tournament final, Florida leads UCLA 35-33.

The Gators have shot very well so far, making 14 of 25 shots for a sterling 56.8% mark from the field. But the three-pointers haven’t been falling at the same clip — Kenny Boynton has two, Erving Walker one — which has meant that Florida has needed to go inside for scoring. They’ve gotten that from Chandler Parsons (six points), and also from reserve big men Patric Young and Erik Murphy, who have combined for eight points. Young, in particular, had a nice sequence as a spark, getting a big left-handed block and a steal leading to a dunk on the defensive end in consecutive possessions.

For the Bruins, getting away from a blueprint that had them up early hasn’t limited their ability to hang with Florida. Joshua Smith scored UCLA’s first six points, then didn’t score again in the first half; Reeves Nelson had eight points to lead the Bruins, and UCLA made its bones inside and at the free throw line, shooting 15 charity stripe shots in the first half. Florida’s defense has limited the Bruins to just over 40% shooting, but that poor shooting has been compensated for at the foul line.

And the bruising Bruins have been excellent on the boards, outrebounding Florida 20-10 and conceding zero offensive rebounds to the Gators.