PHOENIX — Marquette slapped, pushed and attempted to manhandle Florida; Florida defended, frustrated and outhustled Marquette.
In the end, hustle and defense won.
The No. 7 seed Gators (26-10) have played their way into a second straight berth in the Elite Eight after defeating the third-seeded Golden Eagles (27-8) 68-58 on Thursday night in Phoenix. Florida advances to play No. 4 seed Louisville on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. for a chance to make a trip to the Final Four.
In the buildup to the game, Marquette forward and Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder questioned UF’s ability on the defensive end, and that proved to be a mistake.
Florida allowed an average of 47.5 points in its first two tournament wins against Virginia and Norfolk State, and the team continued its defensive dominance against a high-scoring, fast-paced Marquette squad. The Gators held the Golden Eagles to 30 points on 31.4 percent shooting in the first half, and a game total just one point more than their season-low of 57 on 30.8 percent shooting.
“We knew we could defend these guys because they weren’t recreating the wheel when it came to offense,” Patric Young said. “We knew we could stop these guys and it wasn’t like they were a high-organized offense that could just run their stuff around us. … We knew what we could do; I’d rather them think we can’t guard them so they’re surprised.”
A frenetic first 4:26 saw Marquette establish a quick 9-4 lead with a significant physical presence inside and ability to get up and down the floor — attributes that made the Golden Eagles a savvy Final Four pick even before Missouri and Michigan State were upset.
“We were a little nervous,” Young said. “When you know what’s on the line, it’s one-and-done if you can’t come away the victory, you get kind of nervous because there’s so much pressure on you.”
Marquette held close throughout the first half with its rebounding, pulling down an 9-5 advantage on the offensive glass which was good for 13 second-chance points compared to just two for Florida.
“We knew we had to do a better job there,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I told our guys at halftime, with Marquette, they’ve had a lot of comeback victories. They keep coming and they keep coming.”
But the Gators fought back, establishing a team-wide identity for pulling down the rebounds as seven players had three or more rebounds. Florida closed the half on a 9-0 run to establish a 36-30 lead at the break, finally pulling away for its biggest lead of the half thanks to five points and an assist from Brad Beal and a breakaway from Kenny Boynton. The Gators outrebounded the Eagles 6-2 during the span.
“It’s a team effort when it comes to rebounding,” Young said. “That was huge because they had so many points and second-chance opportunities coming out of the first half that we had to limit.”
Marquette got back into it with six straight points to cut the lead to 48-40 while holding Florida scoreless for more than four minutes. But Erik Murphy, who finished with seven points and 10 boards, ended the drought with a tough inside bucket — the type of uncharacteristic play Florida made all game, and the type of play that made the difference.
“Murphy’s just aggressive on both ends of the floor (during the tournament),” Beal said. “Coach has been on his butt about rebounding in practice and it’s just carried over into the game.”
Shots weren’t falling all night for Crowder, who finished 5 of 15 for 15 points. He dealt with foul trouble throughout and had multiple shots rattle in and out, as did the entire Marquette team, which took 21 shots from three despite attempting just 16.9 per game entering the game.
Marquette made a late run to bring the game as close as 58-52 with 3:18 left, but a three from Erving Walker over Todd Mayo with 2:07 remaining extended Florida’s lead to nine and put the finishing touches on the team’s 26th and most important victory to date.
“One more game to that Final Four and to put up another board in our practice facility,” Young said. “We’re right there. We have to get this next one. We have to.”
Contact Matt Watts at mwatts@alligator.org.
Florida freshman Brad Beal finished with a game-high 21 points as the Gators advanced to the Elite Eight for the fifth time under coach Billy Donovan.
Florida center Patric Young finished with nine rebounds as the Gators outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-21 on Thursday.
