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Florida basketball: Oral Roberts pulls off March Madness upset

By Jeremy Klump

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: Sheldon Stevens #23, Kareem Thompson #2 and Jamie Bergens #4 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles celebrate after defeating the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Oral Roberts defeated Florida 81-78. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: Sheldon Stevens #23, Kareem Thompson #2 and Jamie Bergens #4 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles celebrate after defeating the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Oral Roberts defeated Florida 81-78. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The No. 7 seed Florida Gators were upset by No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in the Round of 32 on Sunday night 81-78. Florida basketball fans should be disgusted with how their Gators played at the end of this game. The Gators were in control the entire game, but then with about two minutes left, the Gators did not play well. It looked as if the Gators overlooked Oral Roberts.

We have said it before, and we will say it again, Florida would only go as far as 1st-team All-SEC guard Tre Mann would take them. Florida needed Mann to be the man, and he was against Oral Roberts. However, for some odd reason, Mann did not take many shots towards the end of the game, and the offense wasn’t running through him.

The sophomore guard ended the game with 19 points. He started the second half on fire and hit two big three-pointers and a nice lay-up to give Florida the momentum they needed. Mann showed he was the best player on the court, so it was confusing to see Mann not be the guy for the Gators when it mattered most. He did miss the game-tying three-pointer, but he was cold from not taking any shots before that.

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Another player that deserves some love is in the loss is Tyree Appleby. The junior guard was injured in the first round, but he played his heart out tonight. He was doing his thing on both ends of the court and was giving Florida a jolt of energy every time they needed it.

Along with Appleby and Mann, junior forward Colin Castleton played an underrated game. Castleton was dominant on the boards, securing ten rebounds and also having a few blocks.

Florida’s biggest issue in their loss was the turnovers. They turned the ball over 20 times, and you felt all of them. It was an ugly performance by the Gators and one that will hurt until next season. It felt like they would turn the ball over in bunches, too, and it felt like they beat themselves.

Florida could not stop Oral Roberts’ two stars, guard Max Abmas and forward Kevin Obanor. These two dominated Ohio State, and they also dominated the Gators, with Abmas ending the game with 26 points and Obanor ending the game with 28 points. It was odd that we all knew these were the guys they would go to, but the Gators had no answer.

Florida was yet another victim of the March Madness Cinderella story, but they have no one to blame but themselves. Oral Roberts advances to the Sweet 16, and the Gators are sent packing back to Gainesville.

It was a great year by the Gators, all things considered. We are looking forward to seeing the steps they take for next season.

Go Gators!

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