LIVE UPDATES: Florida, Virginia Tech overcome obstacles to get to NCAA tournament
INDIANAPOLIS — Florida is heading to the second round for an eight straight NCAA Tournament appearance — and with arguably its best player on the bench as a de facto assistant coach.
Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tre Mann hit a step-back 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in overtime and the seventh-seeded Gators held off No. 10 seed Virginia Tech 75-70 in a first-round game on Friday.
Florida was cheered on by Keyontae Johnson, who has supported and inspired his teammates from the bench since his return from a scary medical episode. Johnson collapsed on the court during a game in December and was hospitalized, forcing him to sit out the rest of the season.
Castleton, a transfer from Michigan, was dominant on the inside and Mann showed up with a pair of key 3-pointers late to send the Gators (15-9) into the second round Sunday to face 15 seed Oral Roberts, a 75-72 OT winner over two seed Ohio State.
Mann hit a 3 with 2:49 left in regulation, a shot that became huge as Virginia Tech rallied in the closing seconds and forced overtime on Nahiem Alleyne’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. Mann’s second big 3-pointer gave the Gators a 74-70 lead and proved enough after Cordell Pemsel’s missed jumper with 10 seconds left.
Alleyne led Virginia Tech (15-7) with 30 points.
Florida 75, No. 25 Virginia Tech 70, OT
VIRGINIA TECH (15-7)
Aluma 3-6 1-2 7, Mutts 2-5 2-4 6, Alleyne 8-18 8-11 28, Bede 0-1 0-0 0, Radford 7-15 4-4 18, Cattoor 4-11 0-0 11, Pemsl 0-1 0-0 0, N'Guessan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 15-21 70.
FLORIDA (15-9)
Castleton 6-8 7-8 19, Duruji 4-7 1-5 9, Appleby 2-6 2-2 6, Locke 4-8 2-2 10, Mann 5-9 1-2 14, Lewis 5-8 3-4 15, Osifo 0-0 2-4 2, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Jitoboh 0-0 0-0 0, Ruzhentsev 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-46 18-27 75.
Halftime_Virginia Tech 33-27. 3-Point Goals_Virginia Tech 7-23 (Alleyne 4-10, Cattoor 3-10, Mutts 0-1, Radford 0-2), Florida 5-13 (Mann 3-6, Lewis 2-3, Duruji 0-1, Locke 0-1, Appleby 0-2). Fouled Out_Aluma, Mutts, Duruji, Osifo. Rebounds_Virginia Tech 22 (Aluma 7), Florida 35 (Castleton 14). Assists_Virginia Tech 11 (Mutts 4), Florida 9 (Mann 4). Total Fouls_Virginia Tech 24, Florida 19.
2:53 p.m. | Mann extends UF lead
Mann nails a step-back 3 to give Gators 74-70 lead with 23.4 seconds remaining.
2:39 p.m. | Going to OT
2:27 p.m. | Gators trying to hold on
2:20 p.m. | Mann of the moment
2:15 p.m. | Gators on 7-0 run
2:11 p.m. | Castleton gives Gators lead
2:07 p.m. | Gators staying close
1:48 p.m. | Appleby helped from the court
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1:39 p.m. | Gators still trailing in 2nd half
1:19 p.m. | Hokies' three-pointers the difference
1:08 p.m. | Gators trail at the half
1:02 p.m. | Hokies hold slim lead
12:57 p.m. | Payne not in action?
More:Florida coach Mike White holding out Omar Payne, whose elbow knocked out Tennessee's John Fulkerson
12:54 p.m. | Gators closing in at NCAA
12:52 p.m. | Gators making a run
12:45 p.m. | Hair styles of the NCAA
12:40 p.m. | Coaching at NCAA Tournament matters
12:37 p.m. | Gators trail Hokies early
12:32 p.m. | Hokies hitting 3s
12:26 p.m. | Gators trailing Hokies
12:21 p.m. | Duruji opens scoring
12:19 p.m. | Mann on defense
11:45 a.m. | Final line has Gators as an underdog
As of 11:40 a.m., betting site BetMGM had the Gators listed as a 1.5-point underdog, with an over-under for the combined score at 134.5.
More:What's the latest line, over-under for Florida Gators vs. Virginia Tech Hokies?
12:11 p.m. | Gators roster
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