Sports | Basketball - The Independent Florida Alligator

Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Wildcats enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 2-seed, where they will play the winner of Ole Miss and Alabama on Friday.

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Predicting which team will win the SEC Tournament

Mar. 12, 2019

Kentucky

Florida coach Mike White and the Gators lost their final three games of the regular season and finished 17-14. UF plays Arkansas in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday.

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Gators hope to boost NCAA resume at SEC Tournament

By Jake Dreilinger | Mar. 10, 2019

The future for the Florida men’s basketball team seems bleak.

Florida coach Mike White said center Kevarrius Hayes is the only player devoting 100-percent effort to rebounding. “He’s been asked to go, it’s his job," White said, "Kevarrius Hayes - and he’s hard to block out because he goes 10 out of 10 times.”

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Florida falls to Kentucky in regular-season finale

By Alanis Thames | Mar. 9, 2019

The Gators fell flat when it mattered.

UF guard Funda Nakkasoglu became the second active player in the SEC to cross 2,000 career points in the Gators' regular-season finale victory over Vanderbilt on Sunday.

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Florida's season ends in Round 2 with loss to Missouri

By Dylan Rudolph | Mar. 7, 2019

The sparse Florida crowd at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, sheepishly tried to revitalize the players, but only in vain.

Senior guard Jalen Hudson's 11 points in the Gators' 65-54 loss to Kentucky were his highest total since Butler (Dec. 29) and the first time this year he'd reached double figures in SEC play.

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Hudson’s play not enough for Gators to beat LSU in final home game

By Jake Dreilinger | Mar. 6, 2019

Florida’s best option was Jalen Hudson. It had to be.

Florida guard Delicia Washington’s jumper gave UF a two-point lead with just 15 seconds left, and the Gators snapped a five-game losing streak with a 57-55 win over Alabama.

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Florida advances to Round 2 with win over Ole Miss

By Dylan Rudolph | Mar. 6, 2019

Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin desperately tried to motivate her team during the final timeout of the game. She slammed her clipboard to the ground and pounded her fist against her red leather jacket looking for a reaction from her players, but she was met with silence.

UF guard Funda Nakkasoglu scored 14 points in Florida’s 90-42 loss to Mississippi State on Thursday night. She was the only Gator to score in the first quarter.

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Nakkasoglu reaches 2,000, Florida holds off Vanderbilt in regular season finale

By Dylan Rudolph | Mar. 3, 2019

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu stepped to the free-throw line amid a monster, 23-point performance.

Florida guard Jalen Hudson scored a team-high 13 points in UF's 61-55 loss to Georgia on Saturday at the O'Connell Center.

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Georgia stuns the Gators at the O'Dome behind Claxton’s 25 points

By Tyler Nettuno | Mar. 2, 2019

The focus has been clear for the Florida men’s basketball team over the last few weeks: Just beat the teams you’re supposed to.

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu was honored on Senior Night and scored 14 points in the Gators 69-57 loss to Georgia.

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Dreadful first quarter sets the tone as Gators fall on Senior Night

By Sam Campisano | Feb. 28, 2019

It was all smiles before Thursday night’s game at the O’Connell Center as Florida honored its lone senior, Funda Nakkasoglu, on Senior Night.

UF guard Andrew Nembhard is shooting 74.1 percent in his last four games.

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Gators adding new aspects to their offense as season nears end

By Jake Dreilinger | Feb. 28, 2019

Florida guard Noah Locke went up for the jump shot, but he noticed forward Isaiah Stokes open in front of the basket with 49 seconds left in the first half.

Florida guard Andrew Nembhard recorded 11 assists in Florida's 81-72 win over Texas A&M on Jan. 22.

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Hudson, Nembhard lead Gators in dominant win at Vandy

By Alanis Thames | Feb. 27, 2019

Florida guard Jalen Hudson was sprinting toward the basket when guard Andrew Nembhard found him.

UF guard Delicia Washington scored seven points in Florida’s 90-42 loss to Mississippi State on Jan. 24.

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Washington’s absence felt on floundering Florida team

By Dylan Rudolph | Feb. 26, 2019

It was over early.

Florida coach Mike White has never defeated Vanderbilt in Nashville in his career.

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Gators look to earn first win in Nashville under White

By Jake Dreilinger | Feb. 26, 2019

Mike White has never beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Guard Funda Nakkasoglu scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc in the Gators' 80-62 loss to Texas A&M on Monday.

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Gators can’t get out of first gear in blowout loss to Texas A&M

By Sam Campisano | Feb. 25, 2019

Aggies center Ciera Johnson scored an easy right-handed layup to open the scoring on the first possession of Monday night’s game at the O’Connell Center.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu leads the Gators with 16.3 points per game this season, roughly six points higher than the next player.

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Funda Nakkasoglu: Unequivocally Turkish with Aussie roots

By Sam Campisano | Feb. 24, 2019

Growing up, Funda Nakkasoglu wondered why she couldn’t have a “normal” name.

Senior guard KeVaughn Allen has scored in double figures in 22 of the Gators’ 27 games this season, and he has led the team in scoring 11 times.

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Guard KeVaughn Allen is UF's best player right now

By Alanis Thames | Feb. 24, 2019

You may not have seen it coming two weeks ago.

Florida forward Keyontae Johnson scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in UF's 64-60 win over Missouri on Saturday at the O'Connell Center.

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UF is finding ways to win as regular season winds down

By Tyler Nettuno | Feb. 24, 2019

Guard Noah Locke was having a rough game against Missouri. He had missed all five of his shots, but even as attempt after attempt came up short, forward Keyontae Johnson encouraged him to keep up his confidence.

Senior guard KeVaughn Allen scored 21 points with five assists in the Gators' 90-86 overtime win over Ole Miss.

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Gators frustrate undisciplined Missouri at the O’Dome

By Jake Dreilinger | Feb. 23, 2019

Missouri forward Jeremiah Tilmon slowly trotted back to the Tigers’ bench after earning his fifth foul. The echoes of the Rowdy Reptiles rang behind him.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu dropped a team-high 18 points in UF’s 67-50 loss to Tennessee on Thursday in Knoxville.

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Florida’s road woes continue at LSU

By Sam Campisano | Feb. 21, 2019

It was like watching a movie you’ve seen a thousand times before.

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Gators’ upset of LSU showed fight White wanted earlier in season

By Alanis Thames | Feb. 21, 2019

LSU guard Daryl Edwards lowered his head at the sound of the final buzzer.