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The No. 13 Baylor Bears hit their stride from beyond the three-point arc, knocking down 14 of 25 attempts, en route a 95-91 win over Florida in the NIT Season Tip-Off title game.
The Gators fell to 4-2 on the season with the loss while Baylor improved to 6-0.
The game started out as well as possible for Florida as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead following a Walter Clayton three-pointer just a minute and a half in. Florida remained in the lead until the 14:04 mark when Ja’Kobe Walter knocked down a jumper to even the score at 14. Walter followed with a pair of free-throws that put the Bears on top for the first time. A 12-1 run by Baylor put the Bears ahead 24-15 with 11:13 to play in the first half.
The Gators fought back and got to within three after a pair of made free throws by freshman Thomas Haugh with 7:41 to go. Baylor quickly went on a 9-1 run to go ahead 36-25. Florida evened things up by halftime thanks to a 16-4 run to end the period.
The Gators opened the scoring in the second half on a Riley Kugel dunk, but Baylor continued to score at a higher rate and kept Florida at a small distance throughout the second half as that was the Gators last lead. Florida did manage to tie the game twice (59-59, 61-61), but it wasn’t enough to overcome the hot shooting by the Bears.
The Gators were led by Kugel, who finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Tyrese Samuel (18), Zyon Pullin (17), and Clayton (11) all scored in double-digits as well.
Florida shot 45% from the field, including 8-26 from long range while Baylor shot 52% from the floor and made 14-25 from three-point range.
Florida will take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC on Wednesday, November 29 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The game is set for a 7:15 PM and tip and will be aired on ESPNU.
The Demon Deacons are 3-3 overall but are 2-0 in home games thus far.
Walter Clayton, Jr. put on a show for the audience in Brooklyn to lead Florida past Pitt, 86-71, Wednesday night. The Gators improved to 4-1 on the season and will take on No. 13 Baylor in the tournament championship Friday afternoon.
Florida started slowly, allowing the Panthers to score the first seven points of the contest before a Tyrese Samuel layup put the Gators on the scoreboard. Pitt led by as many as none points with 12:14 to play, but Florida continues to cut into the deficit as the half moved along. Clayton’s layup with 9:58 left tied the game at 20. From there it was a back and forth contest until the final minute where a Clayton layup and a Thomas Haugh triple had the Gators leading by five going into the halftime break.
Pitt quickly tied things up in the second half as Florida struggled to find the basket early on. With the game tied at 39, Clayton finally put the Gators on the scoreboard in the half with a basket. The next possession, Pitt took the lead on a three-pointer by Guillermo Diaz Graham. From there, Florida took over. The Gators led by as many as 15 points multiple times over the final eight minutes, but they never let the lead get cut to less than eleven over that stretch.
Clayton led all scorers with 28 points, which included going 6-6 from 3-point range. Samuel added 20 points (9-11 FG) and 10 rebounds. Alex Condon (11) and Zyon Pullin (10) also finished in double digits for the Gators.
Two @GatorsMBK with 20 points (Clayton, Samuel) for the first time since 2/26/22 at Georgia (Fleming 27, Appleby 21).
Clayton’s 6 3s are the most by a Gator vs a power conference opponent since Myreon Jones hit 7 on 2/9/22 vs. Georgia.
For the game, Florida shot 47% but held Pitt to just 35% from the field. The Gators were outrebounded 46-37 but had assists on 24 of their 31 made buckets.
Florida will take on No. 13 Baylor in the tournament title game Friday. The Bears beat Oregon State 88-72 in the NIT opener Wednesday. Baylor is 5-0 on the season. The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM and will be aired live on ESPN.
It took four sets for the seniors on the Florida Gators Volleyball team to capture their last victory at the O’Connell Center. Stellar performances from senior AC Fitzpatrick and freshman Kennedy Martin helped the Gators improve to 18-8 on the season and 10-7 in the SEC.
A total of six seniors were honored for UF: Anna Dixon, Sofia Victoria, Elli McKissock, Nnedi Okammor and Sofia Victoria and Kennedy Muff.
The 20th-ranked Gators used the energy provided by senior night to take a 2-0 advantage in the match. Florida secured a commanding 25-16 win in the first set followed by a 25-20 victory in the second set.
The Gamecocks responded with a 25-22 win to push to a fourth set before the Gators secured the match 3-1 after a 25-17 victory sealed the match.
Martin led the way offensively posting a team-high 26 kills. Fitzpatrick followed her lead with 14 kills and Victoria rounded out the Gators attack with nine respectively. Martin has now tallied the most kills by a freshman in Florida Gators Volleyball program history with 443.
Muff had an elite performance dishing out 54 assists and leading UF to a .341 offensive clip. The fifth year facilitated the offense Wednesday at a high level and also contributed eight digs on the defensive side.
The Gators posted 15 total blocks as a team. Florida had three or more players finish with five blocks or more. Okammor led the way with eight followed by Gabrielle Essix who recorded seven. Martin flashed her skills at the net as well while tallying five in the four-setter.
McKissock roamed the backcourt for Florida with 20 digs. Emily Canaan helped hold down the defensive side of the net with 11 digs and Trinity Adams complimented the backcourt with 9 of her own.
Florida totaled seven aces as a team in the match with McKissock and Victoria with two apiece, while Adams, Martin and Muff each had one.
The Gators conclude their regular season schedule on the road against Kentucky. The team will travel to Lexington to battle the Wildcats on Saturday. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. and will be available on SEC+.
Columbia thought they had won the game. Cecilia Collins put the Lions ahead 81-80 with a driving layup that went down with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock. The Gators immediately called a timeout to move the ball up the floor to set up a dramatic finish. Florida inbounded the ball to Aliyah Matharu just beyond the elbow, Matharu moved to her right and hoisted a shot while the clock expired. As the shot swished through the net, the graduate transfer was swarmed by her teammates and coaches in celebration of a 83-81 victory.
The win improved the Gators to 5-1 overall with a sweep of the Bar Mar Pink Flamingo Championship.
The first quarter saw back and forth action between the two sides. Florida led by as many as seven following a Matharu pull-up jumper with 4:41 left in the period, but Columbia has cut the deficit to just three by the end of the stanza.
The back and forth jostling continued into the second quarter. The Lions took a 31-30 lead on a three-pointer by Kitty Henderson. The two teams traded leads throughout the remainder of the second, but the Gators trailed by four points heading into the halftime break.
Quickly into the third, Columbia extended their lead to six at 47-41 but a free throw by Matharu and a layup by Ra Shaya Kyle put Florida back on top with 5:56 remaining in the quarter. A Zippy Broughton bucket followed by a period closing three by Matharu put Florida up by seven heading into the final quarter.
A 5-0 run by Columbia pushed the score close once again. The Lions jumped ahead by six with 3:26 remaining following an Abbey Hsu triple but the Gators proved resilient. Alberte Rimdal knocked down a three to put Florida within one and Kyle followed with a second chance layup with four seconds remaining to put the Gators ahead and to setup the thrilling conclusion.
For the Gators, Matharu finished with 26 points to lead the way. Kyle added 18 points and seven rebounds. Leilani Correa contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Faith Dut also finished in double-digits with ten points.
Florida will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on Wednesday, November 29. The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM and will air on ACC Network.
The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 so far, but will travel to Cancun for a holiday tournament this week. GT defeated Kennesaw State 77-38 their last time out (Sunday).
There is a lot on the line this year as Florida and Florida State are set to meet on the football field Saturday night in Gainesville.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case for most of the last decade as both programs have struggled to remain in the national spotlight due to struggles on the football field.
The Seminoles have been riding high in 2023 as the Mike Norvell-led resurgence has been sped up thanks in large part to an aggressive mindset in regards to the transfer portal. (The No. 66 strength of schedule probably helped, too).
Florida State enters the matchup looking to complete a perfect regular season, something that has never happened at Florida. Not only that, but the Seminoles are currently ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Seminoles know that if they run the table (beating Florida and Louisville in the ACC title game), they are in as the No. 2 and 3 teams (Michigan, Ohio State) play in what amounts to an elimination game this weekend.
For the Gators, bowl eligibility is on the line. Florida opened the season 5-2 and seemed destined for a decent bowl game, however, the schedule got increasingly difficult and the team has failed to pick up a win since mid-October. While bowl eligibility doesn’t sound all too thrilling, the experience and repetitions that can be gained for a team that has seen 30+% of all snaps taken by freshmen, it could make a massive difference heading into the spring and into the future of the program.
Both teams, however, will be without their starting quarterback. FSU signal caller Jordan Travis suffered an injured lower leg in the first quarter of the Seminoles’ rout of Northern Alabama Saturday. He has announced via social media that his collegiate football career is over as a result. Florida’s Graham Mertz endured a fractured collarbone after colliding with multiple Missouri defenders on an important keeper late in the third quarter.
Florida State will likely start Tate Rodemaker, who completed 13-23 passes in relief of Travis on Saturday. In four years at Florida State, the Valdosta, GA native has completed 60% of his passes for 767 yards and seven touchdowns, though he has also thrown five interceptions in his 93 career attempts.
The Gators will start redshirt freshman Max Brown, who was part of the UF baseball program last spring. Brown is a dual-threat that put Florida in position against Missouri in a hostile environment with both his arm and legs. In limited duty, Brown has completed 10-12 passes for 106 yards.
Florida and Florida State will meet for the 67th time Saturday night in the Swamp. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:00 PM in front of a national audience on ESPN. The Gators are currently a 6.5 point favorite according to ESPN Bet.
The Florida Gators Volleyball team is on a three-game win streak. The team traveled to Columbia, Missouri Friday and swept the Tigers. The Gators improve to 17-7 and 9-6 in SEC play. Freshman Kennedy Martin and senior AC Fitzpatrick proved that they will be a force for the Gators offense when postseason play comes around.
Florida won the first set of the match in comfortable fashion 25-18. The Gators carried their momentum into the next set 25-20 victory before capping off the sweep with another 25-20 win in the third and final set.
Martin led the way for UF posting a team-high 11 kills. Sofia Vicotoria, Gabbi Essix and Victoria each contributed six kills apiece as well.
The Gators put up a strong defensive performance as a team as well. Florida posted 10 blocks at the net to hold Mizzou to a .076 offensive clip.
Senior Elli McKissock held down the backcourt for UF. The libero tallied 15 digs in the victory. Martin posted nine digs as well with Emily Canaan and Trinity Adams having five of their own.
Fifth year Kennedy Muff had an efficient night of dishing out the ball to Florida’s offense. She had 26 assists enroute to generating a .239 hitting percentage for the Gators.
Canaan had a stellar night at the service line totaling three aces in the match. UF’s service attack was followed by Martin with with two aces and one apiece from Adams, Victoria and Muff.
The Gators will remain on the road as they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a top-20 matchup with the Razorbacks on Sunday. First serve against No. 10 Arkansas is slated for 4 p.m. and will be aired on SEC Network.
The Florida Gators (3-1) fell to the No. 12 Florida State Seminoles (3-0) 79-75 Friday afternoon in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
“I know our team, and I know that we are resilient, tough, and this loss is only going to make us this much better,” Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
The Seminoles took the lead early into the first half with the tip-off, but the Gators got on the board with a fast break layup from UF senior center Ra Shaya Kyle. The rivalry heat sparked as Florida State gained free throw points from Florida’s fouls.
UF freshman guard Laila Reynolds kept Florida in the game with a fast break layup to push the Gator’s score. Reynolds then made a three-point jumper to bring Florida within a five-point deficit.
A turnover from UF senior guard Aliyah Matharu allowed the Seminoles to regain possession, and in turn, FSU junior forward Mikayla Timpson scored a three-pointer. UF junior guard Alberte Rimdal responded with a drilled three-point jumper.
Despite the back-and-forth intense battle on the court, the Gators kept their momentum up in the game and worked their way into a two-point deficit to close out the first quarter, 23-21.
To come out with a quick start in the second quarter, UF junior guard Jeriah Warren made a layup for Florida. While the Seminoles continued to hold their lead, the Gators defensively fought hard to keep them from scoring points.
Kyle and Matharu blocked Seminole shots, allowing Florida to regain possession of the ball in an effort to make a comeback. A pass from Reynolds resulted in a Florida State steal, but an offensive turnover gave the Gators the ball back.
Layups from Rimdal and Matharu brought the game within a tight 35-31 range. In the final moments of the first half, Leilani Correa made a layup, and for the first time in the game, a three-point jumper from Matharu allowed Florida to have their first slim lead, 36-35.
Matharu scored the first shot of the opening frame to up Florida’s lead to 40-37. Offensively, the Gators found their groove as a team to the Seminoles from added points on the board. However, a personal foul on Matharu allowed Sara Bejedi to score free throw shots, which she made both to tie the game at 42 a piece.
Warren made a jumper, allowing Florida to regain its lead over the Seminoles, 45-42. Rimdal fired up a three-point jumper to push the Gators lead to 48-44. Turnovers from both teams fueled the intensity, but a defensive rebound from Rimdal resulted in an assist for a Correa layup.
Florida closed the third quarter with a 56-49 lead over the Seminoles.
An aggressive Seminole offense resulted in the substitution of Kyle after she fell to the ground, grabbing her ankle to gain possession of a Florida State ball. Correa drilled a three-pointer that had them on their feet.
Matharu layed a three-pointer from behind the arc to bring the Gator’s score to 66-61 with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter. Kyle reentered the game and made a jumper to add to Florida’s lead, 70-67.
A layup from FSU sophomore guard Ta’niya Latson on a fast break allowed Florida State to take the lead 72-70. With 15 seconds on the clock, the Seminoles reached a 77-74 lead, leading Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley to take two timeouts.
A personal four from Reynolds gave the ball back to the Seminoles, and with six seconds left, two free throws were made from Latson. The Seminoles closed the game with a 79-75 win over the Gators.
Stats:
42 percent field goal percentage over FSU’s 38 percentage
Florida has a total of seven blocks, six steals and 13 assists.
Leilani Correa and Ra Shaya Kyle both share the top leaders of 16 points scored.
UF will travel to Nassau, Bahamas, for the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, where Florida will play at 4 p.m. Monday against Purdue.
Florida took a slow start against the Rattlers as they reached a slim 6-5 lead early into the first quarter. UF senior guard Aliyah Matharu gave the Gators their first lead on a free throw. A passing error from FAMU allowed Florida to then regain possession of the ball and score on a fast break from freshman guard Laila Reynolds.
Reynolds’s layup pushed the Gators lead to 12-3.
A drilled three-pointer from UF senior guard Leilani Correa put the Rattlers in a seven-point deficit. After a back-and-forth grueling first quarter, the Gators continued to lead 20-13 as FAMU fell behind defensively.
UF senior center Ra Shaya Kyle gave Florida its first points in the second quarter with a free throw after a personal foul on Rattlers junior guard Nashani Gilbert. A fast break layup from Reynolds gave Florida a ten-point lead over FAMU as the Rattlers failed to set up on defense.
A three-point jumper from senior forward Faith Dut kept the Gators’ momentum up and edged a 15-point lead, 30-15. Matharu battled through an aggressive Rattlers defense that fought to keep her from possession of the ball, but she was unable to be blocked as she closed out the first half with a three-pointer on an 8-14 field goal percentage.
The Gators led 48-26 heading into halftime.
Florida dramatically opened the second half with two three-pointers from Correa and Matharu. Kyle dominated the frontcourt as she claimed five consecutive points for the Gators. With 3:34 left in the third quarter, Florida led 61-36.
Reynolds extended Florida’s lead with a long-stretch three-pointer that she drilled past the arc.
“The transition from high school to college is mostly in the speed of the transitions; she is extremely talented, and what sets her apart is her humble work ethic,” Florida head coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
Correa made her fourth three-point jumper of the night, followed by a layup from Kyle in the final seconds of the third quarter to bring the score to 69-40.
UF held the Rattlers to a 28-point deficit as graduate student guard Kenza Salgues made her first shot of the night to give Florida a 75-47 lead.
Florida junior guard Jeriah Warren drilled a three-point jumper, and with 19 seconds left, Reynolds made a layup with two consecutive missed free throws. UF junior forward Eriny Kindred ended the second half with a layup to close the game with a 92-54 victory.
“I was proud of our effort on both ends of the floor to hold them to 54 points, I thought was pretty good,” Finley said.
Leading Scorer: Aliyah Matharu with 22 points on 9-18 and 7 rebounds followed by Laila Reynolds with 20 points, going 8-11 for field goal attempts, along with six rebounds.
Florida shot 49 percent from the floor to go along with 13 steals, and 14 assists.
Florida will play Florida State at 4 p.m. Friday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
The Florida Gators Volleyball team showed up to Tuscaloosa, Alabama ready to put their talents on display. Freshman Kennedy Martin and senior AC Fitzpatrick led the Gators to the road victory in three tightly-contested sets.
UF improves to 16-7 on the season and and 8-6 in conference play.
The opening set was a battle. Florida took the first frame 25-23 after 12 combined lead changes. The Gators found their rhythm en route to an 8-0 run that propelled them to a 17-15 lead. A kill from Martin during set point secured the 1-0 lead in the match for Florida.
The Gators looked to carry their momentum to the second set. The team got out to an early 6-2 lead in the frame. Alabama fought back with two separate 3-0 runs throughout the set to grab a 12-11 lead. Fitzpatrick responded with a kill to tie the score on the next point. Martin capped off the set with back-to-back kills to give Florida a 25-20 victory in set two.
In the third and final set, UF slammed the door shut with a 25-22 victory. They flashed their defensive skills early in the frame with back-to-back blocks from Nnedi Okammor and Sofia Victoria to give the Gators a 3-0 edge. Florida totaled five service errors which allowed the Crimson Tide to creep back into the set and tie the score at 16 apiece.
The score was tied four more times until two clutch kills from Fitzpatrick gave the Gators a 22-20 advantage. Alabama was forced to call a timeout but it was not enough to slow down the Florida’s presence at the net defensively. Gabbi Essix and Kennedy Muff forced match point after posting a timely block. Fitzpatrick capped off the 3-0 sweep with a huge kill to seal the 25-23 win in the third set.
The Florida offense was led by Martin with 18 kills and Fitzpatrick just behind her with 17 at a .517 clip. Victoria also contributed six kills of her own respectively.
Muff dished out a team-high 38 assists in Sunday’s sweep. Trinity Adams tallied two assists of her own in the win.
On the defensive side of the net, the Gators tallied eight kills in the matchup. Essix led the way tallying six blocks to lead the way for UF.
Elli McKissock roamed the backcourt all night for the Gators as she posted a team-high 15 digs. Her efforts moved her to second place on the program’s all time digs leader list with 1,562. The rest of Florida’s backcourt was featured by Emily Canaan with with 11 digs and Muff with 9.
The Gators will continue their road trip as the team heads to Columbia, Missouri on Friday to battle the Missouri Tigers. First serve will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Hearnes Center.
Kelly Rae Finley continues an impressive run on the recruiting trail as the Gators have signed a third member of the 2024 class.
Houston Episcopal High star Me’Arah O’Neal signed with the Gators Sunday. O’Neal is the nation’s No. 33 ranked recruit by both ESPN and ProspectNation.
O’Neal picked Florida over Kentucky, Tennessee, and LSU, among many other options. That she picked the Gators over her father’s (Shaquille O’Neal) alma mater (LSU) speaks volumes about Finley’s ability to recruit at a high level.
O’Neal, the youngest of Shaq’s children, told ESPN that her she made the decision on her own and has her family’s support.
O’Neal is a 6’4 prospect that can dribble and shoot as well as protect the rim defensively. She will arrive on campus in the summer of ’24 and will be eligible to play in the fall.
She joins Alivia McGill (No. 16 overall prospect) and Kylee Kitts (No. 25 overall prospect) as Florida’s signees in the 2024 class.
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