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And then there were four
Four of five unbeaten teams played on Tuesday night, but one didn't emerge unscathed. We break down Florida's win over North Carolina, Drake's heart-stopper against Kansas State, Utah State's surprising late result, and much more. Plus, the injury bug has hit Loyola Chicago.
Sean Paul
December 18, 2024
Good morning! Get your errands done early tonight because the Field of 68 is streaming VCU at New Mexico. Tips at 9 pm ET. Settle in for some free hoops.
Let’s get to Tuesday’s news.
1. Florida holds off North Carolina, stays unbeaten
How good is the SEC? So good that an unbeaten team like No. 7 Florida keeps getting mentioned behind Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky and Alabama.
On Tuesday, the Gators looked ready to make the jump. They led North Carolina by double digits in the first half at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. They just couldn’t close.
North Carolina staged a second-half comeback and led by four late with just over four minutes to play, but Will Richard (22 points) and Alijah Martin (19) made enough plays down the stretch for an 90-84 victory. Martin grabbed a late offensive rebound and tied the game, while Richard followed up with another offensive rebound on the next sequence. That proved to be the difference as the Gators (11-0) corralled 40% of their misses.
It seemed like the Tar Heels (6-5) had a chance when RJ Davis (29 points) and Ian Jackson (11 points) got loose in the second half. Florida coach Todd Golden said afterward that they didn’t want Davis and the other shooters to hit from 3. (UNC went 5-of-28 from deep.)
“Our game plan truthfully was to do a good job sticking to their shooters.” Golden said. “Not allow (Seth) Trimble, who’s shot the ball well this year, (Cade) Tyson, who’s playing a little more now and (Ian) Jackson off the bench to let those guys get going at all. We wanted to make RJ (Davis) and Elliot (Cadeau) beat us from 2.”
Florida’s leading scorer, Walter Clayton Jr., had just 12 points on 4-of-15 shots. When you best player struggles, and you can still score 90 points? Not bad.
It also leaves the SEC at 50-4 overall during the month of December. That conference is going to be a grindhouse for league play.
2. Drake somehow stays unbeaten. Utah State …
It’s hard to describe Drake’s thrilling 73-70 overtime win over Kansas State, but we’re gonna try.
