Florida senior forward Erik Murphy netted a career high 27 points and the No. 13 Gators outrebounded the Tigers 42-26, dismantling LSU, 80-58, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Senior guard Charles Carmouche, the only Tiger in double figures, paced a stagnant LSU offense with 14 points. LSU (19-12, 10-10 Southeastern Conference) shot 25 percent in the second half and 33.3 percent for the game.
“I didn’t think that we were hitting on all cylinders today,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “[We] weren’t as effective, and didn’t execute at the level that we needed to have an opportunity to compete.”
Looking fatigued after a gritty 68-63 win against Georgia in the second round, the Tigers had no answer on either end for the No. 1 seeded Gators, falling behind 13-6 within the first five minutes of the contest.
A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Anthony Hickey and two more from Carmouche got the Tigers to within one, 18-17, at the 9:57 mark.
But as it did throughout the game, Florida answered quickly with a 12-2 spurt, capped off with one of Murphy’s five 3-pointers.
“I didn’t think we did a great job of setting the tone early and allowed them to keep running through those lanes and making tough plays,” Jones said.
Down 40-28 but still within striking distance, LSU came up empty on its last possession of the first half, giving Florida the ball with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Florida coach Billy Donovan immediately called a timeout and drew up a play for the last shot. Gator guard Michael Frazier II buried his 3-pointer, a dagger in the Tigers’ chances going into the locker room that sent the Gators into chest bumps at midcourt.
“That shot was big, a big boost for them going into halftime,” Carmouche said. “They came out and played from the beginning to the end, and you got to give them credit.”
Florida kept its foot firmly on the accelerator to begin the second half, racing out of the gate with a 17-6 run to stretch its lead to 60-34 and stifle any hopes of another second half rally by LSU.
Now sitting in virtually the same position it did last year, LSU awaits a possible NIT bid after posting 19 wins and taking 10 of its last 16 SEC games. The selection show will air Sunday at 8 p.m. immediately following the NCAA Tournament show.
Jones stopped short of saying his team is safely in, but added he’d relish the opportunity for his team to keep playing.
“It’s something we hope for and something we’ll be looking at,” Jones said. “We’ll be excited about the opportunity should it present itself.”
LSU guard Andre Stringer (10) heads to the hoop as Florida guard Mike Rosario (3) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 15, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. Florida won 80-58. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
