Even when the Gators look like they are trying to lose, they still find a way to come out on top.
No. 1 seed Florida (32-2) let a 16-point second-half lead dissolve to one point with 1:31 on the clock Sunday. But No. 2 seed Kentucky (24-10) failed to take advantage of two missed free throws and fell 61-60 in the championship game of the SEC Tournament.
The victory capped an unprecedented 18-0 run through the conference for Florida.
Shortly after the game, the Gators — as expected — received the No. 1 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. They will play Thursday in Orlando against the winner of Albany and Mount St. Mary’s, who are in a play-in game Tuesday night.
But first the Gators had to finish off Kentucky.
With 23 seconds remaining and the Gators up one, point guard Scottie Wilbekin, a 74 percent free-throw shooter this season, missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Gators forward Dorian Finney-Smith was there for the rebound and was immediately fouled. He, too, missed the free throw and Kentucky rebounded.
With 14 seconds on the clock and coming out of a timeout, Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison drove to his right and passed to freshman guard James Young, who was cutting to the lane. Young planted his left foot at the free-throw line and had an opening to the basket, but he slipped and lost possession.
By the time Wilbekin and Harrison dived for the loose ball, the clock had expired.
Florida had not won both the regular-season and tournament crowns since the 2007 national championship squad did it.
The Gators finished the night 7-of-17 from the line compared to the Wildcats’ 21-of-26.
“If you would have just showed me the stat sheet and I would have saw 7-of-17 and 21-of-26, I would say we’re going to have a hard time winning.,” coach Billy Donovan said. “But to our guys’ credit, we moved to the next thing and we still had the lead and we still had a chance to get a stop to win the game.”
Florida appeared to be in control when it took a 40-30 lead into the half and then increased that advantage to 16 with 18:11 left.
But Kentucky outscored Florida 21-7 in the final 10:47.
Now it’s on to the Big Dance with a 26-game winning streak on the line.
“I think we have the kind of confidence that we can line up against anyone,” senior center Patric Young said. “We think if we’re playing the right way, that there’s no one we can’t beat.”
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