The Elite Eight was officially set with the last game of the Sweet 16 on Friday night between the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 4 Florida Gators, and we had ourselves a thriller.
NCAA Tournament 2017: Florida beats Wisconsin 84-83 in an overtime thriller
The Gators are headed to the Elite Eight.
In overtime with four seconds left, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes drove to the basket and was fouled, sending him to the line with four seconds to go. He hit both free throws, but Florida’s Mike Chiozza hit a miraculous three-pointer in the final seconds to pull off the 84-83 win for the Gators.
That wasn’t the only exciting last-second play of the night — overtime was forced by Wisconsin’s Zac Showalter, who hit a three-pointer of his own to tie it up. The game as a whole went back and forth throughout, with both teams capitalizing on lead changes and swings in momentum.
Florida’s KeVaughn Allen finished with a season-high 35 points on the night, but there’s no question Chiozza was the hero of the night.
Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes finished with 22 points on the night.
The Gators have made it back to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 2014 season, and they’ll face the No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday. The SEC now has three teams in the Elite Eight, with the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats. That’s the first time since 1986 that we’ve had three SEC teams make it to the Elite Eight.
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