The University of Florida was the only Southeastern Conference team the LSU men’s basketball team did not defeat in the regular season.
Postseason play was much of the same.
The Florida Gators (26-6) used a zone defense to limit Glen Davis, SEC Player of the Year, to 12 points and defeat LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals 81-65 in Nashville, Tenn.
“Big Baby is a monster,” said Florida forward Joakim Noah. “He’s not the player of the year for no reason. But he’s going to get his regardless, so we’re just trying to contain him the best we could. We did a pretty good job even though he got a lot of our front court in foul trouble.”
Although the Tigers (23-8) shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, they managed just 30 percent in the second half. Florida outscored LSU 43-24 in the second half.
“Our zone worked well,” said Florida guard Taurean Green. “When the ball went in the middle to Glen Davis, the guards had to help down a lot. We didn’t want to leave it to our bigs to stop him. When he caught the ball in the middle and put it on the floor, we tried to grab the ball and make steals.”
Green led five Gators in double figures with 18 points. Noah added 15 points and 12 rebounds, Corey Brewer scored 15 and Chris Richard and Al Horford each had 10.
LSU senior Darrel Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Tasmin Mitchell recorded his second consecutive game with 20 points, while Davis scored 12 and Darnell Lazare added 10.
“I’ve been out with an ankle injury these last couple of weeks,” Darrel Mitchell said. “Tonight I got back in the flow a little bit of playing with my teammates, and it felt real good.”
After leading 41-38 at the half, LSU hit only three of its first 13 shots and Florida went on a 14-7 run to take the lead, 52-48.
Darrel Mitchell tied the game at 56 with a three-pointer, but Florida used a 16-3 run to take a 72-59 lead.
LSU was without SEC Freshman of the Year Tyrus Thomas because of a sprained left ankle suffered against Kentucky. Thomas is expected to be ready for the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re one guy short, really, to play them like we would like to have played them today,” Brady said. “The game wore on a little bit, and we didn’t handle the fatigue as well, it seemed.”
On Friday, the Tigers advanced to the semifinals by defeating Vanderbilt 92-73 in the quarterfinals.
Davis tied his career high with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds.
“[The basket] just felt like a big ocean,” Davis said. “I felt it tonight. It was just one of those nights.”
The Tigers set the pace early by jumping out to a 9-0 lead. LSU went on a 14-4 run at the end of the half to take a 44-30 halftime lead.
Garrett Temple scored a career-high 14 points while shooting 4-6 from three-point range. Tasmin Mitchell tied his career best with 20 and Lazare added 16 points.
After the Florida game, Brady said the SEC Tournament is less important than the regular-season crown his team won.
“Well, in my opinion, we won the title that’s the most [important] one, the 16-game SEC schedule when you go 14-2 and win the league outright,” Brady said.
 
Contact Matt Vines at [email protected]