In its second game of a weekend back-to-back, Florida faced its first ranked team of the season and was unable to keep up.
The Gators fell to No. 21 Purdue 85-70 on Sunday night in the championship game of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
At the 8:38 mark of the second half, Florida was down by just three, 63-60, but an impending 22-3 scoring run by Purdue sealed the win for the Boilermakers.
"Disappointed in our defensive effort. Offensively I thought that we played from behind probably with too much urgency, too hungry to hit home runs in a comeback situation," coach Mike White said.