TEMPE, Ariz. - The Florida Gators are two wins away from bringing another trophy back to Gainesville.
Walter Hodge scored 18 points and Chandler Parsons added 15, and Florida defeated Arizona State 70-57 on Tuesday night in the NIT quarterfinals.
The Gators, the two-time defending NCAA champions, watched an early 17-3 lead evaporate, falling behind on Jerren Shipp's 3-pointer with 13:30 to go. But the young Gators (24-11) showed poise down the stretch, responding with a 15-6 run to hold off the Sun Devils.
The Gators will play Massachusetts in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden on April 1.
"These guys have had a very, very good year considering we lost five NBA players and the all-time 3-point field goal-maker (Lee Humphrey) in NCAA tournament history," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "I think what these guys have done has been, to me, as a coach, impressive. We were starting from scratch."
Last March, the Gators were steaming toward their second straight NCAA title. On Tuesday night, they found themselves in the desert against the motivated Sun Devils, who were still angry over their snub by the NCAA tournament selectors.
Both teams stumbled down the stretch in the regular season but turned it up in the NIT. Florida won its first two tourney games by an average of 26 points, and ASU by 11 and 14 points.
Early on, the Gators looked like the hotter team, sprinting to a 14-point lead after six minutes. The Gators hit four 3-pointers during that flurry, two by Hodge.
Arizona State (21-13) went on an 8-2 run midway through the half and whittled the lead to 35-29 at halftime.
The Sun Devils surged ahead 47-45 on Shipp's 3-pointer with 13:30 to go. But the Gators answered with a 3-pointer by Nick Calathes, who had 11 points and nine assists.
Florida led 54-50 when Harden, Arizona State's leading scorer, went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 8:48 to go. The Sun Devils hit only one field goal - Derek Glasser's 3-pointer - the rest of the way.
"It was a key foul," said Harden, who led Arizona State with 18 points. "I had to sit out and we just couldn't knock a shot down."
Arizona State's zone defense has befuddled opponents all year. But the Gators picked it apart like a chicken dinner, shooting 60.5 percent from the floor. The Gators had 26 baskets on 23 assists, and five players scored in double figures.
"Playing against their zone, we had to keep moving the ball and keep playing really unselfish, and that's what we did," said Parsons, who hit 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc.
The game matched longtime friends and colleagues Donovan and Herb Sendek of Arizona State. Sendek served on Rick Pitino's Providence staff when Donovan played for the Friars, and then the two served on Pitino's staff at Kentucky.
Donovan said it felt a little awkward facing Sendek for the first time, but the feelings subsided as soon as the game tipped off.
"Besides him being a great basketball coach, I've always admired him as a person," Donovan said. "I don't like going into these types of games, but once the game starts, we're just coaching our teams."
Said Sendek, "Once the game starts, the furthest thing from your mind was when he came over to your house and ate all your food."
Tensions ran high despite the friendship. At one point, Donovan was speaking to an official during a time-out when an incensed Sendek dropped his clipboard and stormed toward center court, where he was intercepted by another official.
"I get touchy that way when that's happening," Sendek said. "I just wanted to know, can I join (the conversation). I just wanted equal time. I wanted to know what the conversation was about."
When the game ended, the crowd stood and applauded the Sun Devils, who made big strides after an 8-22 season that included a school-record 15-game losing streak.
"We're a work in progress," Sendek said. "We've made some tremendous progress, and we want to continue to move in the same direction."
