GATORS UPSET NO. 2 VOLUNTEERS THANKS TO CASTLETON
Colin Castleton is accustomed to being doubleteamed every time he touches the ball, so he was pleasantly surprised — maybe even downright stunned — when Tennessee opted to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
“I’ve got to take advantage of that,” Castleton said.
He did. Castleton scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Florida upended the second-ranked Volunteers 67-54 on Wednesday night.
Florida 67, No. 2 Tennessee 54
Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida’s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.
“Our guys are disappointed,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “We’re better than this, but tonight we weren’t.”
Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) looked like it had taken control midway through the second half. They outscored Florida by 10 points in the early going to take a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton, who scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. The senior had a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper — essentially putting the team on his back down the stretch.
“They went small, and I felt like I had a mismatch,” Castleton said.
Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points apiece for the Gators.
Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points.
No. 1 Purdue 80, Penn State 60:
Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as host Purdue (22-1, 11-1 Big Ten) beat Penn State (14-8, 5-6).
No. 14 Marquette 73, Villanova 64: Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat visiting Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead. Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2.
Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7).
No. 16 Xavier 85, No. 17 Providence 83 (OT):
Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as host Xavier held off Providence (17-6, 9-3 Big East) in overtime. Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2).
No. 25 Auburn 94, Georgia
73:
Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) beat visiting Georgia (14-8, 4-5).
West Utah State 84, New Mexico 73:
Sean Bairstow scored 20 points and Steven Ashworth added 19 as the host Aggies (18-5, 7-3 Mountain West) defeated the Lobos (19-4, 6-4) despite all five New Mexico starters scoring in double figures.