Oklahoma defends softball title with 5-4 win over Florida

By CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Even as defending champions, it seemed for most of the season that Oklahoma was unlikely to repeat.

The Sooners earned just a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost their NCAA opener to North Dakota State before rallying, then had to go to Auburn and win a super regional.

Even when they recovered at the Women’s College World Series and reached the championship round, they faced No. 1 seed Florida and its two All-American pitchers.

In the end, Oklahoma found a way, including a 17-inning win in Game 1. On Tuesday night, Shay Knighten hit a three-run double in the second inning, and the Sooners defeated Florida 5-4 to win it all again.

The Sooners (61-9) took both games from Florida in the best-of-three series to earn their third NCAA title in five years.

“I still cannot believe that this happened, with where we started and where we finished,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said.

“There’s so many stories. The journey was unbelievable. I think if you looked at us in February and March, even parts of April, you would never imagine us sitting here right now with trophies in front of us.”

Knighten, who hit a three-run homer in the 17th inning on Monday, was selected the World Series’ Most Outstanding Player.

Oklahoma freshman Mariah Lopez (18-1) got the win in relief of Paige Parker. Though Parker has an 8-0 career World Series record, she struggled on Tuesday and lasted just 1 2-3 innings. She threw 108 pitches in the 5½-hour game on Monday night.

“I think Paige probably could tell you she didn’t have her best stuff, but she is the reason why we’re sitting here right now, and she knows that. I know she knows that,” Gasso said.

“To be able to give Mariah (Lopez) the ball, a freshman who’s been waiting patiently, and for her to step up and do what we asked her to do in that setting was another reason why we’re sitting here with a trophy. It’s another reason why we’re here, period.”

Paige Lowary stepped in and threw two innings of perfect relief for her nation-leading 11th save. With a one-run lead, she retired Florida’s Nos. 2-4 hitters in order in the seventh. On Monday night, ESPN announcers said one of her pitches reached 75 mph on the radar gun.

“Paige Lowary came in, and she was hot,” Gasso said. “She was ready. I don’t know how hard she was throwing, but it looked like 100 miles an hour. The adrenaline was there and she was hitting her spots just so confident.”

Florida (58-10) did not allow an earned run in three games to reach the championship series, but the Sooners were able to break through against what statistically was the nation’s best pitching staff.

Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill, USA Softball’s National Collegiate Player of the Year, did not play Tuesday. Florida coach Tim Walton went with No. 3 pitcher Alesia Ocasio (8-2), and she got the loss. Delaney Gourley allowed the double to Knighten in relief.

“It just wasn’t our tournament,” Walton said. “You look at the statistics, it’s eerie how close the games were statistically. So I think that you’ve got two evenly matched teams. One just found a way to hit the ball over the fence more than we did, and give them a lot of credit.”

Oklahoma’s Nicole Mendes homered on Ocasio’s third pitch of the game to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead. Sophia Reynoso responded with a solo shot for Florida in the second.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the second, Ocasio singled to knock in Justine McLean, then Kayli Kvistad walked with the bases loaded to score Amanda Lorenz and make it 3-1.

Knighten’s big hit in the bottom of the second put Oklahoma up 5-3.

“Being in those moments, I’ve just got to keep myself calm, just stay relaxed and just kind of not think about what if, just kind of go for it,” she said. “And it paid off.”

Florida’s Chelsea Herndon came back with a solo blast in the third to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 5-4. The pitchers took over from there.

“Just a hard-fought two games,” Walton said. “Wish we could have pushed it to a third, and give us a chance. But I thought overall our players — really proud of our team.”

Oklahoma had just one senior in its lineup and has no senior pitchers. Gasso said her team will be focused again next season.

“We learned a lesson,” she said. “We are good at learning lessons. We’re not going to let this get in our way.”

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP.

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Box Score

2017 Oklahoma Softball
#1 Florida vs #10 Oklahoma
Jun 06, 2017 at Oklahoma City, Okla. (USA Softball Stadium)

Florida 4 (58-10)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Lorenz lf	2	1	0	0	2	1	2	0	1
DeWitt 2b	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	0
Ocasio p/3b	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
Kvistad 1b	2	0	0	1	1	0	7	0	0
Wheaton c	3	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5
Reynoso ss	3	1	1	1	0	0	1	4	0
Clemens dp	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
J. Roberts ph	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Voss pr/cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Herndon rf/dp	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	0
McLean cf/rf	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hoover 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gourley p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	26	4	6	4	3	5	18	5	6
Oklahoma 5 (61-9)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Mendes, Nicole rf/p	4	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	1
Clifton, Caleigh 2b	2	1	2	1	1	0	1	1	0
Knighten, Shay 1b	3	0	1	3	0	1	8	0	1
Aviu, Fale dp/rf	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pendley, Nicole cf	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3
Romero, Sydney 3b	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Hatfield, Macey lf	3	1	1	0	0	1	4	0	0
Wodach, Lea c	2	1	0	0	1	1	5	0	0
Arnold, Kelsey ss	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	0
Parker, Paige p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lopez, Mariah p/dp	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lowary, Paige p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	26	5	8	5	2	5	21	7	5

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Florida............. 031 000 0 - 4 6 1 Oklahoma............ 140 000 X - 5 8 1 -----------------------------------------

E - DeWitt(3); Hatfield, M.(2). DP - UF 1. LOB - UF 6; OU 5. 2B - Knighten, S.(13). HR - Reynoso(3); Herndon(5); Mendes, N.(7). HBP - Kvistad. SH - DeWitt(6). SB - Aviu, Fale(6); Arnold, K.(10).

Florida	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Ocasio L,8-2	1.1	4	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	9	0	4	42
Gourley	4.2	4	1	1	1	5	0	0	0	0	18	19	5	3	69
Oklahoma	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Parker, Paige	1.2	4	3	3	3	0	0	0	0	1	8	12	2	3	44
Lopez, Mariah W,18-1	2.1	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	8	9	4	1	28
Mendes, Nicole	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	1	2	20
Lowary, Paige S,11	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	6	6	1	2	29

Win - Lopez, M. (18-1). Loss - Ocasio (8-2). Save - Lowary, P. (11). HBP - by Lopez, M. (Kvistad). Inherited runners/scored: Gourley 3/3; Lopez, M. 3/1; Lowary, P. 1/0. Pitches/strikes: Ocasio 42/25; Gourley 69/46; Parker, P. 44/23; Lopez, M. 28/21; Mendes, N. 20/11; Lowary, P. 29/22. Umpires - HP: Terry Holt 1B: Scott Thomas 3B: Erin Peterson Start: 7:07 pm Time: 2:21 Attendance: 8507 Weather: Clear, 89F, N 6mph Mendes, N. faced 1 batter in the 6th.

Play-by-Play

2017 Oklahoma Softball
#1 Florida vs #10 Oklahoma
Jun 06, 2017 at Oklahoma City, Okla. (USA Softball Stadium)

Florida starters: 18/lf Lorenz; 23/2b DeWitt; 8/p Ocasio; 21/1b Kvistad; 25/c Wheaton; 74/ss Reynoso; 28/dp Clemens; 19/rf Herndon; 52/cf McLean; 9/3b Hoover;

Oklahoma starters: 11/rf Mendes, N.; 20/2b Clifton, C.; 17/1b Knighten, S.; 34/dp Aviu, Fale; 1/cf Pendley, N.; 2/3b Romero, S.; 6/lf Hatfield, M.; 15/c Wodach, Lea; 3/ss Arnold, K.; 8/p Parker, P.;

Florida 1st - Lorenz walked (3-0 BBBB). DeWitt out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt (0-0); Lorenz advanced to second. Ocasio popped up to 1b (0-1 K). Kvistad walked (3-0 BBBB). Wheaton grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-1 K). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Oklahoma 1st - Mendes, N. homered to left field, RBI (2-1 BKB). Clifton, C. singled to right field (2-1 KBB). Knighten, S. reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop (1-2 KFB); Clifton, C. out at second ss to 2b. Aviu, Fale grounded out to 2b (1-2 BFF); Knighten, S. advanced to second. Pendley, N. reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop (2-2 BBFK); Knighten, S. out at second ss unassisted, interference. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Florida 2nd - Reynoso homered to left field, RBI (1-2 BFFF). Clemens flied out to cf (3-2 BBKBK). Herndon grounded out to ss (0-0). McLean singled, advanced to second on a fielding error by lf (1-2 SKB). Lorenz intentionally walked (3-1 BKBBB). DeWitt singled to left field (1-2 BKF); Lorenz advanced to second; McLean advanced to third. Ocasio singled to right field, RBI (3-2 BBKFB); DeWitt advanced to second; Lorenz advanced to third; McLean scored. Lopez, M. to p for Parker, P.. Kvistad hit by pitch, RBI (1-1 KB); Ocasio advanced to second; DeWitt advanced to third; Lorenz scored. Wheaton fouled out to lf (0-1 K). 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.

Oklahoma 2nd - Romero, S. grounded out to ss (2-2 KKFBB). Hatfield, M. singled through the left side (1-2 FFBF). Wodach, Lea walked (3-1 BBKBB); Hatfield, M. advanced to second. Arnold, K. singled to catcher (2-2 BFBF); Wodach, Lea advanced to second; Hatfield, M. advanced to third. Ocasio to 3b. Gourley to p for Hoover. Mendes, N. struck out swinging (0-2 FKFS). Clifton, C. walked, RBI (3-2 BKSBBB); Arnold, K. advanced to second; Wodach, Lea advanced to third; Hatfield, M. scored. Knighten, S. doubled to right center, 3 RBI (0-0); Clifton, C. scored; Arnold, K. scored; Wodach, Lea scored. Aviu, Fale singled through the left side (0-2 KFF); Knighten, S. advanced to third. Aviu, Fale stole second. Pendley, N. flied out to rf (1-1 KB). 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Florida 3rd - Reynoso lined out to lf (1-0 B). Clemens struck out swinging (1-2 KSBFS). Herndon homered to center field, RBI (0-0). McLean grounded out to ss (1-2 KKBF). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 3rd - Romero, S. flied out to rf (0-0). Hatfield, M. grounded out to ss (0-0). Wodach, Lea flied out to lf (1-2 BKFF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Florida 4th - Lorenz flied out to cf (2-2 KBKBF). DeWitt flied out to lf (0-0). Ocasio struck out swinging (0-2 KKS). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 4th - Arnold, K. grounded out to ss (2-1 BBK). Mendes, N. flied out to lf (1-0 B). Clifton, C. singled to right field (1-1 BK). Knighten, S. struck out swinging (1-2 BKFS). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Florida 5th - Mendes, N. to p. Aviu, Fale to rf. Lopez, M.. Kvistad popped up to 3b (3-1 BKBB). Wheaton grounded out to 3b (1-1 BK). Reynoso grounded out to ss (2-2 BBKSF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 5th - Aviu, Fale grounded out to 1b unassisted (3-2 BBKBK). Pendley, N. singled to left field (3-0 BBB). Romero, S. lined into double play 1b unassisted (0-1 K); Pendley, N. out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Florida 6th - J. Roberts pinch hit for Clemens. J. Roberts singled through the left side (3-2 BKFBB). Voss pinch ran for J. Roberts. Mendes, N. to rf. Aviu, Fale to dp. Lowary, P. to p for Lopez, M.. Herndon grounded out to 2b (1-2 BFF); Voss advanced to second. McLean lined out to lf (0-2 KFFFF). Lorenz struck out swinging (2-2 KBBFS). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Oklahoma 6th - Voss to cf. Herndon to dp. McLean to rf. Hatfield, M. struck out swinging (2-2 BKBKS). Wodach, Lea struck out swinging (1-2 KBKFS). Arnold, K. reached on a fielding error by 2b (2-2 BSFB). Arnold, K. stole second. Mendes, N. struck out swinging (1-2 BSFS). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Florida 7th - DeWitt struck out swinging (2-2 FSFBBS). Ocasio struck out swinging (1-2 FBFFS). Kvistad grounded out to p (1-1 BF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Knighten’s HR in 17th lifts Oklahoma past Florida in Game 1

By CIFF BRUNT
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shay Knighten didn’t let Oklahoma waste any more opportunities.

Her three-run homer off Kelly Barnhill in the top of the 17th inning gave the Sooners a 7-5 victory over Florida in Game 1 of the championship series on Monday night.

Oklahoma left the bases loaded in the 15th and 16th innings before Knighten put the Sooners in control.

“I was just looking to find a pitch in the zone that I could hit hard,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for really a particular pitch. It was just something — I knew she was throwing hard, so it’s just get there, just get there, and if it was in the zone, I was going to swing.”

The matchup between programs that have split the past four national titles was the longest championship series game in NCAA history. It lasted 5 1/2 hours, and all four pitchers threw more than 100 pitches.

“Epic, epic battle,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. “I don’t know what else — that was it. This is one of the greatest games I think in College World Series history, I would guess. It was like two heavyweight fighters throwing punch after punch. Florida just kept answering everything that we put out there, and we tried to answer back, and it was a game of will, a game of team, a game of character.”

Florida coach Tim Walton said he was impressed with his team’s resilience. The Gators extended the game twice after being down to their last strike.

“I told my team in about the — I don’t know if it was the eighth or the 21st, whatever inning it was, I told them great job, proud of you guys,” he said.

Oklahoma (60-9) can clinch a repeat championship Tuesday in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. The Sooners won national titles in 2013 and 2016. Florida won in 2014 and 2015.

Oklahoma’s Paige Lowary (16-3) got the start, was replaced, then re-entered to claim the win.

Paige Parker was the most outstanding player of the series last year and had won all eight of her World Series decisions, so it was a bit of a surprise that Lowary got the start. Parker pitched 6 2/3 innings of relief.

“It was a team decision,” Gasso said. “It was a pitching staff, coaching staff decision. These two were right with us when we talked about it, and then we presented it to the team and they were all for it.”

Barnhill (26-4), USA Softball’s National Collegiate Player of the Year, took the loss for Florida (58-9). She pitched nine innings and struck out 13. Delanie Gourley struck out 13 in eight innings of relief.

The Sooners scored the first earned runs top-seeded Florida has allowed in four World Series games.

With Oklahoma up 2-1 and two outs and two strikes against Florida’s Sophia Reynoso in the bottom of the seventh, Reynoso popped the ball up. It dropped, and Alesia Ocasio scored from first to tie the game and force extra innings.

Knighten doubled off Gourley in the 12th with no outs, and Fale Aviu followed with a two-run homer to put the Sooners up 4-2, setting up Florida’s second escape act.

After Lowary re-entered the game with two outs in the 12th, Amanda Lorenz, down to her last strike, knocked in two runs to tie the score at 4.

Lowary, a transfer from Missouri, settled down and gave up just one more run.

“It was highs and lows, and for Paige Lowary especially to finish on the note that she did, it was to me the highlight of our season,” Gasso said.

The game severely worked the pitching staffs for both teams, but Florida’s Ocasio and Oklahoma’s Mariah Lopez have had strong seasons as No. 3 pitchers.

The Gators still feel they are in a good position.

“Tomorrow is a new day, and we’re still in the national championship,” Lorenz said. “We have two more games left, and I’m really proud to see what we have tomorrow because obviously we showed the softball world a really good game tonight, and we’re not done yet.”

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

South Carolina headed to Final Four, beats Florida 77-70

By JIM O'CONNELL
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) South Carolina added a missing piece to its rich basketball history.

The school of Frank McGuire, Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters, Mike Dunleavy and Alex English is going to the Final Four for the first time.

Add the names Sindarius Thornwell and Frank Martin to the top of the list.

Thornwell's 26 points and the Gamecocks' swarming zone defense meant a 77-70 victory over Florida on Sunday and a berth in the Final Four.

Martin, he of the booming voice and terrifying faces, led the seventh-seeded Gamecocks to the biggest victory in school history and now they will face Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed from the West Regional, in the Final Four on Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

"Anyone that's in sports dreams of moments like this," said Martin, who was doused with water and dancing as soon as he entered the locker room. "It's not something that you start dreaming it the year you win 25 games. You dream it every single day."

The game was as close as expected until the final minute. There were 14 lead changes and 10 ties. The last lead change came on two free throws by Thornwell with 2:24 left that made it 65-63. Fourth-seeded Florida managed just three field goals over the final 3:55.

Thornwell, the regional MVP, followed the deciding free throws with a nice assist to Maik Kotsar for a 4-point lead. It seemed Thornwell, who scored eight straight points for the Gamecocks, was always where he needed to be including making a steal with 40 seconds left that turned into a 73-68 lead.

"Plays needed to be made down the stretch and I stepped up and made plays," Thornwell said.

Teammate Duane Notice knew Thornwell would come through.

"He's capable of doing anything on both sides of the basketball. So it doesn't surprise me," he said. "His senior leadership just kicked in. He don't want us to lose. He don't want our season to end."

"Thornwell was just being Thornwell," Florida coach Mike White said of the SEC player of the year as voted by coaches. "He's one of the best players in the country."

PJ Dozier added 17 points for the Gamecocks, Chris Silva had 13 and Kotsar 12.

Justin Leon had 18 points for the Gators who managed a 40-33 halftime lead on 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range. But that was it. Florida was 0 for 14 from beyond the arc in the second half, a lot like the 0-for-17 effort the Gators had in their first meeting with South Carolina this season.

"We still got our open looks, but they just, I guess they just went farther than what they were in the first half," Leon said.

South Carolina, which forced Florida into 16 turnovers, finished 23 for 31 from the free throw line, including a 9-for-10 effort from Thornwell.

It was the third straight game the Gamecocks were trailing at the half and went on to win.

"We felt like we was doing the right things. We felt like everything was going good for us, it was just the ball wasn't falling in, and we just needed a couple more stops," Thornwell said. "So going into halftime we always just buckled in and locked in on what we needed to do to win and took it one possession at a time."

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: This had been South Carolina's deepest run in the NCAA Tournament. ... The Gamecocks beat No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 Baylor on the way to the Elite Eight. ... Until this tournament the Gamecocks hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

Florida: This was Florida's first NCAA Tournament game against a Southeastern Conference opponent. ... The Gators entered the game with an all-time 44-24 record against the Gamecocks, including 1-2 under White. ... The Gators were trying for their sixth Final Four appearance and that includes the titles in 2006 and 2007.

FAMOUS FANS

Among those in attendance at Madison Square Garden were Hall of Famer Rick Barry, whose son Canyon plays for Florida, Paul McCartney and Darius Rucker.

UP NEXT

South Carolina will meet Gonzaga in the Final Four on Saturday.

SEC rivals Florida, South Carolina battle in East final

Stats, LLC

NEW YORK -- After his team knocked off Baylor in the first game of the East Regional semifinals on Friday, South Carolina coach Frank Martin was extremely complimentary of his Southeastern Conference rivals.

"I want to credit the teams in our league in the SEC for preparing us for the kind of games that you have to play at this time of year," Martin said. "Those coaches, those players that we fought against every single day got these guys prepared to harden, to understand how hard and how disciplined you have to play to have a chance to win at this time of year."

On Sunday, his seventh-seeded Gamecocks (25-10) will face one of them for the third time this season when they meet fourth-seeded Florida (27-8) at Madison Square Garden with a trip to the Final Four on the line. It's the first time since Kentucky and LSU in 1986 that two SEC teams will meet in a regional final.

The Gamecocks advanced with a strong defensive performance in a 70-50 victory over the Bears. The Gators won an 84-83 overtime thriller over Wisconsin on a 3-point buzzer-beater from Chris Chiozza.

Florida and South Carolina split its two regular-season meetings, with the Gamecocks taking a 57-53 decision on Jan. 18 in Columbia and the Gators paying them back with an 81-66 win on Feb. 21 in Gainesville.

South Carolina went 12-6 in the conference. Florida was 14-4.

Many predicted the East Regional final would be a Duke-Villanova classic; in their place will be two schools from a conference mostly known for high-caliber football.

"As a Florida Gator, sitting here as a proud Gator, it is a football conference," admitted Florida coach Mike White. "And it's a basketball conference, and it's a gymnastics conference, and a softball conference, and no one is more aware of that than the Florida Gators. There's excellence throughout the conference in every sport. Men's and women's.

"But SEC basketball, do we have some momentum? Yeah, I think so. I do. And I know that there's been some negativity toward the SEC potentially underachieving over these last couple years. Within our conference, we know the potential and I think that our conference has, is full of good coaches, tremendous talent, a lot of young talent, recruiting classes continue to get stronger and stronger and we have three (Kentucky, South Carolina and Florida) in the Elite 8.

"And who knows, I mean, I think the SEC's going to be better next year, I really do. With the guys that are coming back, and again the young talent that will continue to grow within our league."

South Carolina advances to its first Elite Eight in program history after making it to the Sweet 16 for the first time. Martin's squad is a defensive force. It limited Baylor to just 30 percent shooting, forcing 16 turnovers and holding the Bears to a season-tying-low 22 first-half points.

"We pride ourselves on our defense," said South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC Player of the Year. "We know that's our bread and butter and we know we have a good defense and we go out and guard. We know it's a 40-minute game, and we know teams are going to make runs, but we can't take our foot off the pedal, we got to keep the pressure on and keep guarding."

Elite! Chiozza hits 3 at OT buzzer, Gators beat Wisconsin

By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – With 4 seconds left in overtime, Chris Chiozza took off with the ball, hoping to get to the hoop or find an open man. Instead, the Florida point guard stopped short right at the 3-point line and let fly with a shot that will go down in Gators' history.

Chiozza's 3-pointer swished in at the buzzer in to send Florida to the East Regional final with an 84-83 victory over Wisconsin on Friday night in the most dramatic game of this NCAA Tournament.

"This is something for the rest of his life that he'll be remembered by," Florida coach Mike White. '"He made an unbelievable play."

The fourth-seeded Gators will play South Carolina on Sunday in an all-Southeastern Conference matchup for a spot in the Final Four.

Nigel Hayes had given the Badgers (27-10) a 2-point lead with 4 seconds left on two free throws. With no timeouts, the Gators inbounded to Chiozza and he took care of the rest for Florida (27-8), setting off a Swamp-like celebration at Madison Square Garden.

"I was going to pass, but I was really going to the rim. But they did a good job of bumping me and slowing me down, and that was the shot I had so I had to have that one," Chiozza said.

Hayes ended up chasing and that is no way to play defense.

"I need to do a better job of making him change directions. He's extremely quick with the ball and he was able to put it in one hand and kind of outrun me," Hayes said.

Wisconsin's Zak Showalter was set to be the star before Chiozza took it away. Showalter, a senior, forced overtime with a leaping 3-pointer off one leg with 2.1 seconds left in regulation - pointing to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the crowd - as the Badgers wiped out a 12-point, second-half deficit in the last 4:15.

Florida is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2014, and for the first time under White - the former Mississippi guard who was on the losing end of one of the most famous game-winning shots in NCAA history.

White and the Rebels were upset by Valparaiso on Bryce Drew's buzzer-beater in 1998. Does this one make up for that?

"Hell yeah," said White, the second-year coach who replaced Billy Donovan. "With an emphasis on the hell. Yeah. Absolutely. What a neat game to be a part of, especially when you're on the winning end."

KeVaughn Allen earned the respect of Rodgers for carrying Florida most of the way. Allen broke out of a slump with a career-high 35 points.

Eighth-seeded Wisconsin built a five-point lead in overtime, but with star guard Bronson Koenig hobbled by a leg issue the Badgers couldn't close out Florida.

After Wisconsin's Khalil Iverson hit the front of the rim on a breakaway dunk that Florida's Canyon Barry got a piece of, Chiozza drove for a layup that tied it at 81 with 24 seconds left.

The Badgers put it in Hayes' hands on their final possession. The senior who scored the winning bucket in Wisconsin's upset of defending champion Villanova, used a spin move to draw a foul.

Hayes had 22 in his last game for Wisconsin.

Making their fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance, it looked as if the experienced Badgers had once again found a way to survive and advance.

Chiozza then earned himself a spot in the "One Shining Moment" montage.

BIG PICTURE

Wisconsin: The end of an era for the Badgers. Seniors Hayes, Koenig, Showalter and Vitto Brown go out having been part of four straight Sweet 16 appearances.

"This is a tough way for them to go out," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "And how they battled back, came from 12 down, it's kind of a microcosm of how they have navigated through the program. They have fought back at adverse times and tonight was a great testament to their Will and never give up attitude."

All-Big Ten selection Ethan Happ will return as the focal point for the Badgers next season, but there will be bigger roles for players such as Khalil Iverson, D'Mitrik Trice and Brevin Pritzl.

Florida: The SEC only got five of its 14 teams into the NCAA Tournament, but it will have three in the final eight for the first time since 1986 (Kentucky plays in the South Regional final against North Carolina on Sunday) and at least one in the Final Four. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was at the Garden, enjoying the S-E-C! chants. Sankey brought two ties with him to the arena. He had garnet for South Carolina in game one and then changed to blue and orange for Florida in the nightcap.

UP NEXT

Florida: The Gators split two regular-season games with South Carolina.

Leon, Robinson shine, Florida routs Virginia 65-39 in NCAAs

By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) For a team that puts so much energy and effort into defense, Florida's performance against Virginia was as close to perfect as possible.

Devin Robinson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, the fifth double-double of his career, and the fourth-seeded Gators handled the No. 5 seed Cavaliers 65-39 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Justin Leon added 14 points and 10 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 ridiculous run spanning halftime for this trip to Madison Square Garden.

"That's about as well as we've played defensively," Florida coach Mike White said. "We put a lot of it together tonight."

Florida held Virginia (23-11) to a season-low 17 points in the first half and 29.6 percent shooting on the night. The Cavaliers hadn't scored fewer than 40 points since December 2013, a 48-38 loss to the Badgers.

The turning point in this game 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.

"We just had had to get them uncomfortable and play our tempo," said Robinson, who scored 24 points in his NCAA opener. "We knew if we played at their methodical tempo, it would have been a tough game for us. We tried to stay aggressive on defense and get in transition as best as we can, and that turned to great offense."

Florida 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 intensity, 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.

The Gators were up 23 points against a team that has dealt with offensive challenges all season.

"If we're not shooting well, it's hard for us," Bennett said.

It surely didn't help that the Cavaliers played without forward Isaiah Wilkins, who missed the game while dealing with strep throat.

Wilkins leads the team in rebounds, blocks and steals, and Bennett called him the "heart and soul of our defense." Without him, the Gators attacked the post regularly, with Leon and Robinson benefiting.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia: The reason the Cavaliers failed to advance was obvious. Even they knew they would be doomed if leading scorer London Perrantes and fellow guard Marial Shayok stopped making shots, and they were. Perrantes was 2 of 12, and Shayok 2 of 9.

"We were trying to get something going, but it was one of those days where we couldn't do anything to get the shots to fall," Shayok said. "Obviously their defense bothered us, but we missed easy shots, wide-open shots. We missed a lot of shots we usually make. Nobody wants to lose like that. That was not good."

Florida: The Gators might be a handful moving forward because of their defensive prowess and number of scoring options.

GOING SHIRTLESS

There's little doubt that Leon is done wearing an undershirt. In an attempt to end a shooting slump, the senior went without a T-shirt under his jersey for the first time in two years at Florida.

"I was trying to find something different," he said. "So I did it, and hey."

PROMISING PART

Here's maybe the most promising part for Florida: Leading scorer KeVaughn Allen and Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year Canyon Barry were quiet again. Allen had four points on 2-of-10 shooting, and Barry finished with seven points during a 1-for-4 night.

BOILING OVER

Perrantes chucked the ball at the scorer's table in frustration in the second half, but avoided a technical foul.

UP NEXT

Florida plays Wisconsin on Friday in Madison Square Garden.