If it were up to Jayhawks coach Bill Self, the game would have ended when his team jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Instead, it ended with No. 19 Florida (7-2) defeating No. 13 Kansas (6-3) at home 67-61.
The Gators were helpless when the Jayhawks' 8-0 run left the crowd deflated and Billy Donovan’s team down by seven early.
But Kasey Hill, who returned to the court for the first time since suffering a high left ankle sprain on Nov. 18, sparked Florida with a rare jump shot. Three-pointers by Scottie Wilbekin, who also was nursing an injured ankle, and Dorian Finney-Smith kept the ball rolling.
And it kept rolling for 6:47.
The Gators went on a 21-0 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 14-point lead. The Jayhawks never led again.
“I think we should have had an electrical shortage and canceled the game after that,” Self said. “(Florida) played great, but we were awful.”
Finney-Smith and Wilbekin combined for 14 of the 21 points during the stretch. Wilbekin finished the game with a career-high 18, while Finney-Smith trailed just behind with 15.
In addition to leading the team in points, Wilbekin also led the Gators with six assists and four steals.
Patric Young said having Wilbekin not miss any games after his ankle injury was crucial for the Gators’ success Tuesday night.
“That was a great performance by him,” Young said. “I really think he is finally fully back into the flow of things right now, even coming off of that ankle injury. It’s great having our point guard back fully and ready to go. We can’t wait for Kasey Hill to be 100 percent ready to go.”
Hill returned from his injury just in time to make his on-court debut with Wilbekin. The two alternated running the offense throughout the game, but the senior point guard got the edge with time on the court.
Wilbekin’s playing time of 36 minutes fell only behind Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins, who led all scorers with 26 points in 37 minutes. However, the first-half run by Florida kept Wiggins in check long enough to escape for the win.
The 6-foot-8 freshman, who was the No. 1 recruit in the nation before choosing to enroll at Kansas, was held to eight points in the first half.
The Gators’ 15-point lead heading into halftime gave them just enough of a cushion as the Jayhawks battled back with an 7-2 run to begin the second half.
Kansas actually outscored Florida 40-31 after the break, but turnovers gave the Gators the edge.
Florida forced a season-high 24 turnovers while only committing eight on offense.
“I think the difference in the game was we forced a lot of turnovers tonight,” Donovan said. “We’ve gotten better with the group that we have, but we need to become a little more cohesive.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin drives into the lane during No. 19 Florida's 67-61 win against No. 13 Kansas on Tuesday night in the O'Connell Center.
