Co-MVGs: After a closely contested opening half, the Gator's depth and talent dominated Maryland in the 2nd half to earn a convincing 87-71 Sweet 16 victory over the Terrapins. Leading the Gators were Soph Forward Thomas Haugh and NCAA Hot Sr Guard Alijah Martin. Haugh played starter minutes (32) after an ankle injury to Alex Condon and he made the most of it with 13 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive, 4 defensive), 4 assists, 2 steals and a big block of Derik Queen for a Value Score of 88. Right behind him was Alijah Martin who scored 14 points, 7 big rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and zero turnovers (2nd game in a row with no turnovers) for Value Score of 82. Coming up third was the familiar name of Walter Clayton Jr who scored 13 points with 1 rebound, 4 assists and a steal for 53 Value Credits. Big Team Stats: Team Rebounding: Florida out-rebounded Maryland 42-20! Bench Scoring: Gators bench outscored the Terrapins bench 29-3!! Shooting: Gator shot 50%/39% versus Terrapins 41%/32% for FGA/3Pt. 2nd Half Domination: Florida kept Maryland in the game in the first half by committing 13 turnovers but only committed 4 in the 2nd half when the Gators took control of the game. Florida continued to stay undefeated this season when leading at half. Maryland had never lost by more than 6 points this season before getting a 16-point butt whipping by the Florida Gators. Key Points: Maryland Senior Julian Reese turned into his big sister Angel Reese with a flagrant foul against Reuben Chinyelu. Big Reuben made him pay by sinking both technical fouls and then the Gators scored on the possession making it a 4-point possession. After what looked like a serious ankle injury to Alex Condon, it was a huge emotional lift when Alex was able to come back later in the game. Still, it was the extra minutes of intense play by the True SEC 6th Man-of-the-Year, Thomas Haugh, in Alex's absence, that helped the Gators take control of the game. Box Score Value Leaders Haughc.l.....l88 Martinllllllll...82 Clayton Jrc.il53 Click on thumbnail below for all Value Scores. Value Credits* are assigned as follows: +5 credits for each Steal and Assist +4 credits for each Point scored, Rebound and Block .-5 credits for each Turnover .-1.5 credits for each Field Goal Attempt .-0.75 credit for each Free Throw Attempt * Value Credits are based solely on Box Score data and do not reflect total game contributions by players Maryland Sweet 16:...NCAA Box Score Post Game:................ESPN Video Highlights Florida Gators play the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the NCAA Western Regional Final at the Chase Center, San Francisco on Saturday, 6:09 PM (TBS).
Seemed to me like Clayton decided not to shoot anymore after hitting some early buckets. Looked like he had a number of good looks in the second half where he decided to pass instead, making good plays while doing it, but I still would rather have seen him take more of those shot opportunities. I get the feeling he felt like everything was under control so that he didn't really need to shoot, while I'm always a Nervous Nellie (if you will ).
