ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Gators took the court here at Cowboys Stadium
on Sunday afternoon with hopes of reaching the Final Four for the first
time in six years.
Those hopes were quickly dashed by a Michigan
team that came out and couldn't miss, scoring the game's first 13 points
on the way to a 79-59 win over Florida in the South Region Final.
Florida
(29-8) trailed by as many as 24 points (41-17) in the first half as the
Wolverines (30-7) advanced to the Final Four for the first time since
the Fab Five days of 1993.
Michigan shot 51 percent in the first
half -- 7 of 11 from 3-point range -- to lead 47-30 at halftime. The 47
points were the most given up by the Gators in a half this season.
Michigan
freshman guard Nik Stauskas was perfect in the first half, hitting all
six of his shots, including a 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc.
The
Gators opened the second half with a spurt and trimmed Michigan's lead
to 50-38. But that was as close as Florida would get the rest of the
way.
The Gators were led in scoring by Kenny Boynton and Will
Yeguete, who scored 13 points each as the Gators fell for the third
consecutive season in the Elite Eight.
Editor's note: Check out GatorZone.com later for a more complete report from Sunday's game.
