College Basketball Scores, Rankings, & Schedule in Final Four: Florida Gators Top Dayton Flyers; Arizona Fans Riot Following Game Against Wisconsin
The Florida Gators and the Wisconsin Badgers were victorious this Saturday, defeating the Dayton Flyers and the Arizona Wildcats to secure a spot in the NCAA Basketball Tournament's Final Four.
The top seeded Gators ousted the 11th placed Flyers, 62-52. The effort was led by senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who scored 23 points and helped put the game away with two clutch free throws in the late second half. Patric Young was also a major contributor, tallying 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
It was yet another success to add to a fantastic season. The Gators have won 30 consecutive games, and are 32-2 overall. This latest win was made all the more sweeter, as it is the first time the team has progressed past the Elite Eight in the last four seasons.
The Dayton Flyers, on the other hand, were dealt a disappointing loss to end an absolutely sensational year. The Atlantic 10 tournament champions managed to knock off Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford before going down to Florida. Coach Archie Miller believed his team would go down as one of the greatest in the university's history.
While Dayton University may have been disappointed at the loss, their reaction was nothing compared to students at University of Arizona. Upon seeing their Wildcats fall to the Badgers 64-63, fans took to the streets to riot.
Law enforcement came in to quell the crowd, and things quickly turned ugly as students and fans begin throwing beer cans and bottles at police.
"Tucson Police fired back with 200 rounds of pepper balls, which are plastic rounds that break open and release a small amount of pepper spray," said local reporter Simone Del Rosario, as quoted by NPR. "Police also unleashed 20 foam batons, nine pepper canisters and two larger, plastic and rubber rounds that are targeted toward specific individuals."
Their frustration is understandable given the heated nature of the game. The game was close throughout, right up until its conclusion in overtime. A controversial offensive foul was called on Arizona's Nick Johnson with 3 seconds left on the clock.
"I thought it was a really, really tough call," said Coach Sean Miller said, who could have made it to the Final Four for the first time in his career. "I'm going to stop there. I've already been fined."
The Wisconsin Badgers will be going to the Final Four for the first time since the year 2000. It will be 66-year-old coach Bo Ryan's first Final Four appearance.
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