The unranked Gators went up against one of the biggest powerhouses in College Basketball tonight, and came out with a huge win over the #2 Michigan State Spartans. Both teams are led by two of the greatest minds in college: Billy Donovan and Tom Izzo. But only one coach came out on top, and luckily for Gator Nation, Billy Donovan and the Gators came out on top.

How about I just skip past the first half, and go straight to where all the action happened. Going into halftime, the Gators held a two point lead, and had all the momentum. But the Spartans are a great team, never giving up, and battled back. Florida was trailing most of the second half, but never was too far behind. The player of the game has to be Erving Walker. He didn’t lead the Gators in points, but he made one of the biggest shots in his career. With his team trailing by two, Walker took an unthinkable shot from NBA range, and somehow drained it with ease. The crowd went crazy, Walker was pumped, and the Spartans lost momentum. The Gators held the lead, and never looked back, defeating the Spartans 77-74.

The difference maker in this game came from the foul line. Florida went 22 for 25 from the line, while Michigan State went 10 for 14. The Spartans made too many costly fouls late in the game, and this is what ended up killing them. Erving Walker had success late in the game by simply driving to the hoop, and allowing the Spartans to hack him on his way up. Five Gator players went for double digit points, including 14 points from Chandler Parsons.

The thing that impressed me the most was the way Florida won. Before the game, I said Florida needed to hit the three ball early and often. Well, Florida only hit five 3 pointers, but still managed to win because of their relentless offensive pressure, as well as their success from the foul line. Florida now has a chance to win the Legends Classic tournament at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall when they are matched up against Rutgers, who defeated UMass to advance to the championship game.

Rutgers appears to be weak on defense, and allows around 77 points per game. Rutgers likes to get off to fast starts, which means that Florida will have to contain them early, and come on strong as the game progresses. Hopefully Florida can pull out another victory over Rutgers, and place themselves in the AP Top 25.