Florida Gators advance to Elite Eight after instant classic

There is no way to write a better script than the one that played out between (4) Florida and (8) Wisconsin in Madison Square Garden from late Friday night into the early hours of Saturday morning.

The game will forever be remembered as one of the most exciting and improbable finishes in NCAA Tournament history. After 10 lead changes, seven ties and three blown double-digit leads between the two teams, two seasons on the line came down to four seconds in overtime.

Four seconds was all Chris Chiozza needed to get down the court, get a three off and send up a quick prayer. The Gators stormed the court as the ball fell through the net, while the Badgers sat in silent disbelief.

A Chiozza buzzer-beater, a game-saving Canyon Barry block and a Florida tournament record 35 points from KeVaughn Allen combined for a game-winning recipe for the Gators, and none would have meant anything without the others.

“For Chris to have the wherewithal to know that he can get all the way the length of the court in four seconds, he obviously utilized his speed and quickness and had tremendous composure,” said Mike White. “Canyon Barry had a huge block in overtime. That put us in that position as well. KeVaughn Allen was unbelievable all game. And now we’re sitting here. We have got obviously an extremely quick turn with an opportunity to go to the Final Four. Wisconsin’s a terrific, terrific team and hats off to those guys, especially their senior class that’s been unbelievable and who have had an incredible run.”

The story of the game can be recapped by four runs. The first came with Florida down 11 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. That is when Allen took off after starting the game 1-for-8 from the field. He led the Gators on a 21-8 run to close the half, which put Florida up 34-32 at the half after trailing nearly the entire first 20 minutes.

The next two runs would be by Wisconsin. Allen led Florida to a 10-point lead and watched the lead diminish as the Badgers took the lead back 53-52 with 10 minutes remaining. Wisconsin’s one-point lead was short lived and the Gators were back up by 12 with the game seemingly in control just five minutes later.

Seemingly is the key word. The Gators were soon up by just three points with possession and 44 seconds to go in regulation. Kevarrius Hayes got caught in traffic down low and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes took advantage, stealing the ball and giving his team one more chance to tie it.

Zak Showalter got out in front of Chiozza and had just enough time to put up an unbalanced three to tie it at 72 and send the game into overtime. Wisconsin’s prayers might have been answered just a little too early.

“Any time that happens, it takes a little, it takes the life out of you a little bit,” Chiozza said on giving up the late lead. “But we came in the huddle and we knew that if we played defense the way we played the second half that we had a great chance of coming out with the win.”

It was obvious the late blown lead deflated the Gators as the overtime period got underway. Florida scored just one point in the first three and a half minutes of the five-minute period and Wisconsin was getting to the foul line left and right.

Down five with 1:08 possibly remaining in the season, it was going to take a crazy finish for Florida to pull it out. Allen drove in for a layup to make it 80-77 with 47 seconds left. Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ pushed his team’s lead back up to four with one made free-throw.

Barry drew a quick foul and knocked down two key free-throws to bring it within two-points. The Gators set up the full-court press and Wisconsin’s Hayes surprised everyone when he threw it over everyone down the court to an open Khalil Iverson. Iverson was headed in for what looked to be an easy layup to seal the deal, but Barry somehow caught up with him and cleanly blocked the shot.

Chiozza tied the game at 81 with a layup on the other end and just 24 seconds to go. Hayes drew a foul from Justin Leon as the clock ticked all the way down to four second. He went to the line for two shots.

After he made both free-throw attempts, Florida needed to draw up a play to run in four seconds, but it had no timeouts. The Gators opted to put the ball in Chiozza’s hands for the final play. He caught the pass from Barry and got past Hayes at half court.

One Wisconsin defender bumped into him trying to slow his momentum as he raced for the three-point line, but he was in the clear from there. He took some tips from Showalter as he let the ball go, running forward, and that was it. A once in a lifetime play in a once in a lifetime game to send Florida to the regional final with an 84-83 win.

“Thank goodness we didn’t have a timeout, right?” White said.“I just knew I had four seconds and I was trying to get down the court as fast as I could,” said Chiozza. “If somebody was open I was going to pass it. But I was really trying to get to the rim, but they did a good job of bumping me and slowing me down and that was the only shot I had, so I had to take that one.”

For Mike White, winning the game on a play like that was a bittersweet feeling, but mostly sweet. White was on the other end of an NCAA Tournament buzzer beater as a player for Ole Miss 19 years ago. Valparaiso player, and current Vanderbilt head coach, Bryce Drew knocked down the shot to eliminate the Rebels in the first round of the 1988 tournament.

“Hell yeah,” White said when asked if that game was made up for. “Yeah. With an emphasis on the hell. Yeah. Absolutely. What a neat game to be a part of, especially when you’re on the winning end. Yeah, you feel terrible. I feel terrible shaking Greg’s hand and it’s heart breaking. It was heart breaking for us at the end of regulation.”

The Gators do not get to celebrate the historical win for long as they now prepare to take on (7) South Carolina in the regional final. It is Florida’s fifth appearance in the Elite Eight in the last seven seasons, only second to Kentucky’s six appearances in that time.

Luckily for the Gators, they will face a familiar foe in the Gamecocks with less than 48 hours between tipoffs. Not many gave Florida a chance to make it this far in the tournament, and even fewer believed South Carolina would still be standing, but now the teams will meet in an unlikely SEC showdown.

“A battle,” Chiozza said on his expectations for the game. “We’re both two tough defensive teams and we take pride in the defensive end. We know each other well, so it’s going to be a grind it out game, probably down to the wire just like this one. And it’s just going to be what team’s the toughest one and who can keep the composure and be disciplined the whole 40 minutes.”

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.