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Florida Gators

Florida marches on: Gators overcome slow start to defeat Virginia Tech in OT

Michael Wayne Bratton

By Michael Wayne Bratton

Published:


Things did not look good for Mike White’s team out of the gate as Virginia Tech took control in the first half and led 33-27 at the halftime break but the Gators are still dancing in the 2021 NCAA Tournament thanks to a strong showing in the second half and overtime.

No. 7 seed Florida outscored No. 10 seed Virginia Tech 37-31 in the second half, and if not for a buzzer-beater three at the end of regulation, would have won the game earlier.

Instead, Florida outscored the Hokies 11-6 in overtime to win 75-70 to move on to Round 2 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

The Gators will now face the winner of the Ohio State vs. Oral Roberts matchup in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The win marks Florida’s eighth consecutive second round trip in NCAA Tournaments the program has qualified to play in.

Florida big man Colin Castleton led all Florida scorers with 19 points and he had a key block late in the second half (he had three blocks total in the game), in addition to 13 rebounds.

 

Virginia Tech forced overtime after this shot, which came after Florida forward Anthony Duruji missed two free throws just moments before the Hokies tied the game at the end of regulation.

Once the game surprisingly went into overtime, it would have been understandable if Florida was shellshocked but that’s not what happened.

The Gators were the aggressor of the two teams and it paid off in a big way once the overtime period began.

Tre Mann also hit a clutch three-point shot to push Florida’s lead to four points with under a minute to play. That turned out to be the biggest shot of the ball game for the victors.

Michael Wayne Bratton

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com

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