travisduncan
Gator Fan
The Gators were 10 minutes and three seconds away from a trip to the Final Four. The Gators had built an 11-point lead against Louisville Saturday afternoon in Phoenix and showed no signs of stopping.
Then they did.
In the final 10 minutes of the game the Gators let their pedal off the gas, and the Cardinals zoned in on the defensive pressure.
The Gators went 8-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, and then 0-for-9 from distance in the second half, after Rick Pitino switched from a zone to a man-to-man defense.
The Gators offense went into a funk, scoring just eight points in the final 10 minutes and scoring their final basket with 2:43 in the game. The Gators held the ball too long in an effort to kill the clock and did not get good looks at the basket. The Gators made just one of their final six shots in the paint. Meanwhile, Louisville began hitting threes and getting baskets inside against Patric Young and Erik Murphy. Louisville went on an 18-3 run to win the game 72-68.
"I don't know if we did a great job offensively of taking advantage of what was open," said Donovan.
"I thought we stood around too much, I thought we overhandled. I don't think we got the ball where it needed to go. And we allowed them on some empty possessions to dwindle the lead back down."
As much as the Teacher-Pupil, Billy Donovan-Rick Pitino, storyline was overblown in the last two days-chalk another one up for Pitino. Pitino is now 7-0 all-time against Billy the Kid.
Donovan said earlier this year his squad lacked emotional maturity-not talent. Louisville showed they have a lot of both.
"[This was] a team that was really young and immature in a lot of ways and in front of my eyes I got a chance to watch them grow up and mature competitively," Donovan said after the game.
"To see where Patric Young was at the start of the year, in January, to see where they finished. To see before Brad was in November and December, see where he finished. Same with Erik Murphy. Our guys grew up."
For Gator Nation it will be bittersweet, because this game should have been won. The team with the most talent lost, the team with the most emotional maturity will play next weekend in New Orleans.
The building blocks are there even if Bradley Beal does elect to go to the NBA (he's projected as a lottery, if not Top 5 pick). Erving Walker is a senior and has played his last game, but the nucleus of Young, Kenny Boynton, Will Yeguete, and Erik Murphy gives the Gators a great shot again next year, if Beal comes back then it's Final Four or bust all over again.
A bright future aside, the Gators should be headed to the Final Four and are not, having, for the second straight season, lost the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
"I told somebody this, this is life,"Donovan concluded. "I think when you pour your heart and soul into something and you don't get the results you want, you find out how important and you find out the reasons why you do things. And can you come back with the same level of passion and enthusiasm and excitement to get better."
Then they did.
In the final 10 minutes of the game the Gators let their pedal off the gas, and the Cardinals zoned in on the defensive pressure.
The Gators went 8-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, and then 0-for-9 from distance in the second half, after Rick Pitino switched from a zone to a man-to-man defense.
The Gators offense went into a funk, scoring just eight points in the final 10 minutes and scoring their final basket with 2:43 in the game. The Gators held the ball too long in an effort to kill the clock and did not get good looks at the basket. The Gators made just one of their final six shots in the paint. Meanwhile, Louisville began hitting threes and getting baskets inside against Patric Young and Erik Murphy. Louisville went on an 18-3 run to win the game 72-68.
"I don't know if we did a great job offensively of taking advantage of what was open," said Donovan.
"I thought we stood around too much, I thought we overhandled. I don't think we got the ball where it needed to go. And we allowed them on some empty possessions to dwindle the lead back down."
As much as the Teacher-Pupil, Billy Donovan-Rick Pitino, storyline was overblown in the last two days-chalk another one up for Pitino. Pitino is now 7-0 all-time against Billy the Kid.
Donovan said earlier this year his squad lacked emotional maturity-not talent. Louisville showed they have a lot of both.
"[This was] a team that was really young and immature in a lot of ways and in front of my eyes I got a chance to watch them grow up and mature competitively," Donovan said after the game.
"To see where Patric Young was at the start of the year, in January, to see where they finished. To see before Brad was in November and December, see where he finished. Same with Erik Murphy. Our guys grew up."
For Gator Nation it will be bittersweet, because this game should have been won. The team with the most talent lost, the team with the most emotional maturity will play next weekend in New Orleans.
The building blocks are there even if Bradley Beal does elect to go to the NBA (he's projected as a lottery, if not Top 5 pick). Erving Walker is a senior and has played his last game, but the nucleus of Young, Kenny Boynton, Will Yeguete, and Erik Murphy gives the Gators a great shot again next year, if Beal comes back then it's Final Four or bust all over again.
A bright future aside, the Gators should be headed to the Final Four and are not, having, for the second straight season, lost the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
"I told somebody this, this is life,"Donovan concluded. "I think when you pour your heart and soul into something and you don't get the results you want, you find out how important and you find out the reasons why you do things. And can you come back with the same level of passion and enthusiasm and excitement to get better."
