Florida Gators Eliminated From NIT; Fall to Xavier Musketeers 72-56

The Florida Gators have been eliminated from the NIT with a 72-56 loss to Xavier.

The Florida Gators 2021-22 season is over.

On Sunday, the Gators dropped their second-round NIT contest against Xavier 72-56, eliminating themselves from the postseason.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. provided the Gators a spark offensively for the third game in a row, producing 14 points on 5-11 from the field and 3-8 from beyond the arc, to lead Florida's stagnant scoring attack on the afternoon.

He continued to showcase vast comfortability on the court and strong progression as a building block for the Gators squad going forward. His improvements driving the basketball to the bucket – particularly in the last two contests – to pair with his elite traits as an outside scorer is a direct reason why.

Colin Castleton proved victim to the hounding defensive efforts of Xavier, making it a point to double the Gators' big man whenever he touched the ball inside the three-point line throughout the game. 

As a result, he recorded just ten points on eight shots. His relative ineffectiveness was evident in the lopsided final score.

Florida began to rally late in the first half, overcoming a five-point deficit with right at two minutes left to tie the game at 33 just seconds before the buzzer rang to signal the end of the first half. 

That late momentum failed to carry over to the second half.

Despite seeing one of the program's key pieces in Paul Scruggs – who was on his way to a complete performance with two points, three rebounds and three assists already – exit the contest with what appeared to be a knee injury late in the first half after a collision with Phlandrous Fleming Jr. in transition, the Musketeers rallied to separate themselves in the second half.

They never looked back.

One of the nation's premier three-point shooters in Nate Johnson, although he knocked down just three shots on 13 attempts from the field, led Xavier in scoring with 16. He added five rebounds and 1 assist.

Jack Nunge, Colby Jones, Zach Freemantle and Dwon Odom all eclipsed double-digit point totals to provide Johnson complementary pieces offensively.

Even while allowing five scorers to reach ten or more, Florida had opportunities to come back with the deficit teetering around nine to eleven for much of the second half.

However, its own offensive inefficiencies didn't allow for it.

Plagued by a rough second-half shooting performance, making just nine field goals in the final 20 minutes, Florida failed to withstand the consistency of Xavier's two-way attack. 

The Gators ended the contest just 32.8 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc.

Now, Florida's program is slated to enter its "Golden era" with new head coach Todd Golden operating at the helm.

As a result, the Gators will look vastly different from top to bottom next season, as the new coaching staff steps in and seven seniors depart from the program.

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