Last-second shot eliminates Gators from first round of Big Dance

INDIANAPOLIS — Trailing by 13 points with 4:28 remaining in Friday’s against Colorado, the Gators tied the game in the final minute with a pair of 3-pointers by Walter Clayton Jr. But after a timeout, K.J. Simpson hit a game-winning shot with 1.7 seconds left to give the Buffaloes a 102-100 win in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Clayton made a trey at the 37-second mark to cut the deficit to three and then drained another one with 9 seconds left before Simpson’s go-ahead score. Clayton finished with a career-high 33 points and Simpson led Colorado with 23 points.

The loss ends the season for No. 7 seed Florida at 24-12, while the 10-seed Buffs will face 2-seed Marquette after the Golden Eagles’ 87-69 win over Western Kentucky on Friday.

***FOLLOW GATORS ONLINE’S FLORIDA-COLORADO COVERAGE RIGHT HERE***

Live updates: Florida vs. Colorado

SECOND HALF

Fourth media timeout (3:53): The Buffaloes are up 94-84 and have maintained a double-digit cushion for the last two and a half minutes. They can’t miss from the floor right now, making 12 of their last 13 field goal attempts. Florida has knocked down five of its last seven shots and needs to go on a run right now.

Third media timeout (7:44): Colorado has continued to pad its lead, 79-72, and has a change to take a double-digit lead after this timeout. Eddie Lampkin Jr. is heading to the line for a potential and-one play, and Golden was just hit with a technical foul for arguing the call. Update: The Buffs made all three free throws to go up 10, a critical sequence in the game.

Second media timeout (11:34): The Buffaloes have pulled ahead, 68-62, and built their largest lead of the game (65-58) with an 11-2 run that forced UF coach Todd Golden to call a timeout. Colorado has made its last four field goal attempts, while Florida missed six straight shots before the last two scores from Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyrese Samuel, both of whom have 11 points.

First media timeout (15:50): The Gators are back in front, 54-52, to open the second half after back-to-back buckets by Alex Condon and Will Richard, who leads the team with 10 points. Tyrese Samuel scored Florida’s first points of the period but he’s currently on the bench after picking up his third foul with 17:09 left.

FIRST HALF

Halftime (Florida 45, Colorado 45): The Gators built a 24-14 edge at the 12:33 mark, but the Buffaloes responded with a 10-2 run and the game went back-and-forth for the final eight minutes of the first half. Will Richard and Riley Kugel lead the team with 8 points apiece, while Colorado’s KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva both have 9. The Buffs shot better from the floor (61% > 52%), from downtown (60% > 50%) and the line (100% > 83%), but Florida has twice as many 3s (6). UF won the battle with rebounding (16-12), offensive boards (5-0) and second-chance points (4-0), but Colorado has 24 points in the paint.

Fourth media timeout (2:30): Colorado has regained the lead, 38-37, for the first time since the 18:35 mark in the first half. Florida went 3:08 without a field goal, while the Buffaloes have made three straight field goals and five of the last seven attempts, including their second and third 3-pointers of the game.

Third media timeout (7:00): Florida’s lead has been trimmed to 30-26 after a 10-2 run by the Buffaloes. The Gators had a shooting drought during that stretch and made just one of nine field goal attempts. UF has four offensive rebounds and 4 second-chance points so far. The Buffs have zero.

Second media timeout (10:38): The Gators are up 24-18 but pushed the lead to double digits behind a scoring surge from their bench. Thomas Haugh made Florida’s fourth straight 3-pointer to open the game, Denzel Aberdeen hit a jumper and Riley Kugel had a transition dunk. However, the Gators have missed their last four shots as Colorado has cut into the deficit.

First media timeout (15:27): The Gators jumped out to a 17-12 behind a strong shot from Will Richard (8 points) and Walter Clayton Jr. (5 points). The junior guards hit their first five shots, including two 3-pointers from Richard and one from Clayton. UF made five straight field goals and seven of its first 10 attempts.

***

The Gators (24-11) earned a No. 7 seed after their most regular season wins (21) since 2016-17 and their first SEC title game appearance in decade. The 10-seed Buffaloes (25-10) set a school record for wins in a season with their 60-53 victory over Boise State. 

This year marks Florida’s first trip to the Big Dance since 2021.

“Obviously excited to be here,” said UF coach Todd Golden, who led San Francisco to the tournament in 2022 for the first time in 24 years. “This event can go super quick for you, or if you play well, you can stick around for a couple weeks. I do think last week was a good experience for our guys leading up to this, especially with how many new guys we have in our program this year, to go in a tournament setting and win three games in three days and obviously competing against Auburn in the championship.”

Gators in the NCAA Tournament

* All-Time Record: 45-19
* First-Round Record: 16-6
* Championships: 2 (2006, 2007)
* Runner-Up: 1 (2000)
* Final Four: 5 (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2014)
* The Gators’ eight Elite Eight appearances since 2000 trails only Kansas (11), North Carolina (10), Kentucky and Michigan State (nine) and is tied with Duke.
* Florida’s 22 NCAA appearances have all come over the last 36 seasons.
* Todd Golden becomes the fifth head coach to lead UF to the NCAA Tournament, joining Norm Sloan, Lon Kruger, Billy Donovan and Mike White.
* The Gators remain the last team to win back-to-back national championships, doing so with the same five starters in 2006 and 2007.
* Two of those national championship starters are with the program currently: assistant coach Taurean Green earned 2006 All-Final Four team and 2007 Regional Most Outstanding Player, and radio analyst Lee Humphrey garnered 2006 and 2007 All-Final Four Team recognition and still holds the record for career 3-point field goals in the NCAA Tournament (47).