ORLANDO — The rims in the Amway Center were not Michael Frazier II’s best friends last weekend.
In Florida’s wins against Albany on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Saturday, Frazier — Florida’s top three-point shooting threat — shot a combined 3 of 13 from beyond the arc.
“At this point, I’m happy to get out this gym,” Frazier said after the Pittsburgh game.
“But that’s the name of the game. Some shots are going to go in, some aren’t.”
Against the Great Danes, Frazier went scoreless in the first half and finished with only three points on 1-of-4 three-point shooting. Albany kept a man on the sophomore guard most of the time, even if it meant sacrificing points in the paint by not shifting that defender.
Frazier’s struggles continued against the Panthers, who did not monitor Frazier as closely. Saturday, the Tampa native recorded 10 points — second most on UF — but finished with a 2-of-9 clip from downtown.
To regain his touch, Frazier said he plans on getting some more shots up this week in practice.
“Nothing that I haven’t done before,” Frazier said. “Keep my same routine. The ball just didn’t go in, so I can’t really dwell on that. It’s in the past.”
Despite his shooting struggles in the second and third rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Frazier contributed in other aspects such as defending and rebounding. During the past two games, he has grabbed eight boards and notched a steal.
“I’ve grown in that area, because last year I couldn’t say that if I had a bad shooting night I would continue to play and rebound and play defense, other things that impact the game,” Frazier said.
“My coaches stay on me about it and tell me that I can affect the game in different ways.”
Bruins advance: For the fourth time in his career, Florida coach Billy Donovan will face UCLA in the Big Dance.
The No. 4 seed Bruins cruised past 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin 77-60 on Sunday night to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008.
UCLA will square off against No. 1 seed Florida on Thursday night at 9:45 in Memphis in the South Region semifinals for a spot in the Elite Eight. The winner will play either No. 10 seed Stanford or No. 11 seed Dayton — two of the tournament’s Cinderellas.
The Bruins had no trouble against the Lumberjacks in San Diego and snapped SFA’s 29-game winning streak, giving Florida the nation’s longest winning streak at 28 contests.
First-year coach Steve Alford’s group jumped out to a 42-32 advantage at halftime against SFA and built on it in the second half thanks to stellar play from his backcourt of Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson and Norman Powell.
The trio combined for 50 points on 19-of-30 shooting, 15 of the Bruins’ 30 rebounds and nine of their 22 assists. The Bruins committed only four turnovers Sunday.
“That’s the way we’ve been all year offensively,” Alford said in a postgame interview on TBS. “We’ve clicked like that all year, and that’s a credit to the guys. Our assist-turnover ratio has been top five in the country all year, and we needed it [Sunday].”
UCLA shot only 4 of 14 from downtown but flourished from mid-range and dominated the paint, going 64.1 percent from inside the arc.
Donovan is 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament against UCLA. His first win came in the 2006 national title game, which UF won 73-57. The following year, the Gators held off the Bruins in the Final Four semifinals 76-66 en route to their second consecutive title.
Four years later, UF knocked off UCLA 73-65 in the Round of 32.
NFL coaches attend Florida-Pitt: When CBS showed Bill Belichick attending the Florida-Pittsburgh game and wearing a Gators visor, a screenshot of the New England Patriots coach and his wife immediately went viral.
To the surprise of many, the enthusiastic Donovan and reserved Belichick have been good friends for years.
“He was in Gainesville; I guess it may have been a Pro Day or watching practice, and he called me and said he wanted to come down for the game,” Donovan said. “I left him a couple tickets.”
Donovan said he talks to Belichick often about subjects such as the coaching perspective and motivating people.
“Coach has been great to me,” Donovan said. “I don’t know how many years it’s been. I went to Boston and met with him maybe after their third Super Bowl and have developed a very, very good relationship with him and got a great respect for him.”
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who was supporting the Panthers, was also at the Amway Center on Saturday.
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Michael Frazier II drives the ball during Florida’s 61-45 win against Pittsburgh during the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
