With the Sweet 16 well in sight, the Florida Gators stumbled down the stretch to blow multiple double-digit leads against Oral Roberts and end their season with a bitter 81-78 defeat on Sunday night in Indianapolis.
A jump shot by Noah Locke with 9:48 remaining gave coach Mike White’s squad a 67-56 advantage, but UF fell into one of its signature offensive funks and the Gators’ sloppy play, including 20 turnovers, caught up to them against the No. 15-seeded upstart Golden Eagles.
Oral Roberts (18-10) slipped ahead during the final three minutes to continue its magical run as the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella.