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Final: Baylor 72, Florida 61

Gators suffer tenth straight defeat to nation’s number one ranked team.

Saturday night showed the best of Florida, and the worst of Florida. Unfortunately, the best of only lasted four minutes and fifty two seconds.

It was in that time that the Gators grabbed a 14-7 lead over the number one ranked team in the nation. Florida forced Baylor into four turnovers and had converted on six of their first seven attempts from the field.

Unfortunately, as the Gators’ fanbase knows all too well, these runs don’t last long. What took place after those first five minutes of play was some unspectacular to mediocre play, at best.

The Bears utilized a 13-2 run to end the first half with a double digits advantage at 40-29.

Baylor’s lead increased to as many as nineteen at 53-34 before Florida went on a mini run. With a 12-point deficit and 7:38 remaining, the Gators missed a huge opportunity. In three straight trips, Florida missed the front end of one-and-ones by their two best free throw shooters (Kerry Blackshear twice, and Andrew Nembhard).

Florida closed the gap to ten with just under two minutes to play, but the Bears knocked down seven of eight from the charity stripe to put the game away.

The Gators fell to 12-7 overall and return to SEC play on Tuesday against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs also sit at 12-7 overall and dropped a 63-62 decision to Oklahoma on Saturday.

Individual Stats:

• Keyontae Johnson: 20 points, 5 rebounds
• Andrew Nembhard: 16 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds
• Kerry Blackshear: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Team Stats:

• FG% : 44
• 3FG% : 24
• FT% : 69
• Reb+/- : -11
• Assists : 11
• Turnovers : 7
• Bench Points : 11