Florida’s Will Yeguete has one of his best games, but also commits costly turnover
Will Yeguete did everything he could to get the Gators to this point.
He fought back from in-season knee surgery, returned ahead of schedule and played through discomfort during the SEC and NCAA tournaments. In Florida’s 79-59 loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight on Sunday, he scored a team-high 13 points and had seven rebounds.
That was not the prevailing thought in his mind, however, as he sat in the locker room at Cowboys Stadium. Yeguete was fixated on a costly turnover that burned the Gators’ last chance at a comeback.
After recovering from Michigan’s initial blitz, Florida (29-8) cut the lead from 25 in the first half to 12 with 15:25 left. Wolverines forward Mitch McGary got an easy basket in the paint, and then Michigan guard Spike Albrecht intercepted Yeguete’s inbounds pass to Scottie Wilbekin.
Albrecht turned the steal into a quick layup to put the Wolverines ahead 54-38 with 15:18 remaining.
“We were trying to push the ball, and I didn’t see the guard behind Scottie,” Yeguete said. “That was my fault on that one. I should’ve waited. I just wanted to get the game going and go up and down.”
That sparked a quick run by Michigan (30-7), and minutes later the Gators again fell behind by 20.
Aside from that mistake, it was one of Yeguete’s best games. He was one point short of his career high and went 5-for-5 from the field.
In the four NCAA tournament games, Yeguete averaged 6.3 points and six rebounds in 22.3 minutes.
He stepped away in early February after undergoing surgery to address bone chips and loose cartilage in his right knee. He missed seven games and struggled to regain his form toward the end of the regular season.
“I don’t think I was 100 percent, but I think I was able to affect the game,” said Yeguete, who missed last year’s NCAA tournament with a broken bone in his foot. “Even if I wasn’t 100 percent, I wanted to be out there and help my teammates.”
Yeguete, a junior, developed into the Gators’ best player off the bench this season. He was a rugged and versatile defender who was second on the team in steals with 36. His six rebounds per game also ranked second.
