There was no slow, stomach-turning collapse this time.
This was thorough and absolute destruction.
No. 4-seeded Michigan opened on a big run Sunday and blasted No. 3-seeded Florida 79-59 in front of 36,585 at Cowboys Stadium. The Wolverines handed the Gators their most lopsided defeat of the season to capture the South Region title and roll on to the Final Four.
“I just wish I could start the game over,” Florida senior Kenny Boynton said. “We should have started better. Even when we made runs, we would make a mistake and knock the energy out of our team.
“I really thought we were a great team that could get to the Final Four, but it didn’t happen.”
The Gators (29-8) became the first team in NCAA tournament history to lose in the Elite Eight three straight years. They had late leads evaporate in the previous two exits, but this game was a blowout from the opening minute.
Michigan scored the first 13 points and led 35-15 with 5:27 remaining in the first half. The Wolverines hit eight of their first 12 shots and got three of those misses back on offensive rebounds.
“This is a totally different feel than the last two,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “This one, we didn’t play well enough or deserve to win.”
The Gators were consumed by containing Michigan point guard Trey Burke, one of the nation’s top players, and allowed Nik Stauskas to hit all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half. He added another 3-pointer in the second half and finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-for-8 shooting, including 6-of-6 on 3s.
Florida’s offense was abysmal. The Gators missed their first six shots and were 12-for-29 at halftime. They finished shooting 41.1 percent for the game, including 2-for-10 on 3-pointers.
“Just didn’t fight well enough or play well enough on both ends,” UF center Patric Young said. “Didn’t play smart. Just let them get comfortable and do whatever they wanted on offense.”
And the defensive lapses on Stauskas?
“Maybe we didn’t think he was as good of a shooter as he is,” Young said. “He really burned us.”
The Gators rallied by scoring the first six points of the second half to cut Michigan’s lead to 47-36. They were down 50-38 with 15:25 remaining when the game fell apart for good.
Wolverines forward Mitch McGary scored inside, and Florida threw away the ensuing inbounds pass. Will Yeguete tried to get the ball to point guard Scottie Wilbekin, but neither of them noticed Michigan’s Spike Albrecht lingering nearby. Albrecht intercepted the pass and zipped in for a layup as Erik Murphy unsuccessfully flailed at the shot.
In six seconds, Michigan’s lead went from 12 to 16, and the Wolverines (30-7) followed with an easy basket inside to go ahead 56-38 with 14:38 left.
“We got back in it a little bit, but that was it,” Wilbekin said. “We had a couple of dumb plays. It’s hard to come back from 20 points down, especially when you give up some easy plays like that. It takes the air out of you.”
Michigan pushed the lead to 21 over the next 6:33 and was up 25 in the final minute.
Boynton and Yeguete led the Gators with 13 points each, and Yeguete added seven rebounds.
Mike Rosario, who led the team with 16 points per game in the first three games of the tournament, scored nine on 4-of-9 shooting. Wilbekin had four points, seven assists and four turnovers.
Young picked up two fouls in the first two minutes and played just eight minutes in the first half. He finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Erik Murphy, a senior, was dismal in his final game for UF. He missed all 11 of his shots, had eight rebounds, blocked two shots and turned the ball over three times.
It was a shocking end to what had been a tremendous season for the Gators.
They started 7-0 and later had a 10-game winning streak to stand at 18-2 and earn the No. 2 spot in the Associated Press poll in early February. They captured their second SEC regular-season championship in three years by going 14-4 in the conference.
In the NCAA tournament, they stormed past No. 14-seeded Northwestern State, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast by an average margin of 19 points.
All of Florida’s 29 wins were by double digits, including 17 blowouts by 20 points or more. Only two of the Gators’ losses came by more than six points.
“We buried ourselves,” Boynton said. “This was a better team, and they never let us back in the game.”
