NCAA Tournament, Elite 8 scores: No. 1 Florida holds off No. 11 Dayton, 62-52
Billy Donovan has reached his fourth Final Four as head coach of the Gators, riding senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin to victory.
Kevin C. Cox
The Florida Gators continued their run as the No. 1 overall seed, sinking the No. 11 Dayton Flyers, 62-52. The Gators played another signature game of balanced basketball for their 30th straight win.
Scottie Wilbekin went off for 14 points in the first half, including this icy dagger in the closing seconds:
W
Wilbekin was active in the paint, too, showing off his finishing ability:
The senior point guard finished with 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Florida used a team effort to pick apart the Flyers, as shown by Will Yeguete's block on one end that finished with Casey Prather's dunk on the other:
Center Patric Young contributed on both ends, adding four blocks to his 12 points. Young had scored just 11 points combined in Florida's two previous Tournament games.
Dyshawn Pierre went off in the second half to give Dayton life, but his 18 points were not enough to keep the Flyers dancing. Devin Oliver finished with 12 points in his final game at Dayton.
The Gators have reached the Final Four for the fifth time in school history, and the fourth since Billy Donovan became the coach in 1996.
Florida will play the winner of No. 4 Michigan State and No. 7 Connecticut, who square off Sunday afternoon. UConn is the last team to beat Florida, having done so back in early December.
See More:
