Virginia Falls to Florida 65-39 in Second Round of the NCAAs

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Box Score March 18, 2017

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Mamadi Diakite lead the team with nine points while Jack Salt had eight points and 10 rebounds as fifth-seeded Virginia fell to No. 4 seed Florida 65-39 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Devin Robinson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, the fifth double-double of his career. Justin Leon added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Gators (26-8), who advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the 11th time in school history and fifth in the last seven years. They will play No. 8 seed Wisconsin in the East Regional in New York City on Friday.

They can thank stingy defense and a run spanning halftime for this trip to Madison Square Garden.

Florida held Virginia (23-11) to a season-low 17 points in the first half and 30.2 percent shooting on the night. The turning point came late in the first half, when the Gators started a 21-0 run that was their most lopsided of the season.

Speedy guards Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza repeatedly broke down Virginia’s ”pack line” defense, creating open looks for Leon and Robinson.

Coach Mike White’s team closed the first half with a 12-0 spurt and built a 14-point lead at the break. The Gators came out of the locker room with the same energy and effort, scoring nine straight points that included two 3-pointers from Leon.

Virginia coach Tony Bennett called time out, but it was too little, too late.

Leon made 4 of 8 shots, and Robinson, who had 24 points in the opening round, finished 5 of 8 from the field.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia: The Cavaliers were looking to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in the last four years, and the reason was obvious. Outsiders figured the Cavs would be in trouble if London Perrantes and Marial Shayok stopped making shots, and they were. Perrantes was 2 of 12, and Shayok 2 of 9.