Rapid Reaction: Gators keep NCAA hopes alive by taking care of business to open SEC Tournament
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After losing three consecutive games heading into the 2019 SEC Tournament, Florida may not have advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a loss against Arkansas on Thursday. Thankfully for the Gators, they don’t have to worry about that possibility as Mike White’s team started the league tournament with a win by beating Arkansas 66-50 from Nashville.
Florida improves its overall record to 18-14 on the season with the win. Florida’s win snaps Arkansas’ three-game winning streak the program had entering the tournament.
The Gators got the win thanks to a tremendous defensive effort on the court. By the end of the contest, Arkansas shot only 37 percent from the field. Florida also won the rebounding advantage in the game by a 40-26 margin — including 18 offensive rebounds from the Gators.
Senior KeVaughn Allen, 17 points in the game, and freshman Keyontae Johnson, 20 points and 12 rebounds, led the way for the Gators on the court.
With the win, Florida advances to the Friday’s quarterfinals and will face No. 1 seed LSU in a 1 p.m. ET game broadcast by ESPN.
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
