NCAA Tournament First Round
Gainbridge Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/3/22/2024.03.22_Florida_vs._Colorado.PDF> | Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/11/17/2023-24_UFStats.pdf> | Media Resources<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv6cc1nl98a49pv/AAD_LkZm6hKvVz7FpyboOUR1a?dl=0>
NCAA Digital Media Workroom<https://on.ncaa.com/d1mbbmedia>
Records: Florida 24-12, 11-7 SEC; Colorado 26-10, 13-7 Pac-12
Notable
* Florida set a program NCAA Tournament record for points in a game, but Colorado’s jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining provided the deciding points. The Gators rallied from 13 down with 4:28 to play, tying the game on Walter Clayton Jr.’s deep 3-pointer with nine seconds to play.
* Clayton’s 33 points mark the second-most in Florida NCAA Tournament history, behind only KeVaughn Allen’s 35 in the 2017 Sweet 16 vs. Wisconsin.
* Clayton finishes the season with 633 points, the #5 total in Florida history.
* Clayton also extended his free throw streak to 42 before missing one, tying Canyon Barry’s school record (set in 2016-17) for most consecutive free throws made.
* Five Gators scored in double figures for the 13th time this season, with Florida going 10-3 in those games. Will Richard scored 15 and Zyon Pullin had 13, while Tyrese Samuel and Riley Kugel added 11 each.
* Tyrese Samuel surpassed the century mark in offensive rebounds this season, grabbing three today to bring his season total to 102, which ties Joakim Noah for third-most in a season in team history. Samuel and Micah Handlogten (108, #2 in UF history) became the first Florida teammates to both post 100+ offensive rebounds in a season.
* Three Gators scored 500+ points in a season for the first time in program history: Walter Clayton Jr. (633), Zyon Pullin (512) and Tyrese Samuel (500).
* In the wake of Micah Handlogten’s injury in the SEC Tournament championship game, Alex Condon became the first Gator in program history to make his first career start in the NCAA Tournament.
* Zyon Pullin’s 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio this season is a Florida record and the best mark by any SEC player in the 2000s.
* Florida finishes the season with a school-record 85.6 points per game, and the Gators’ 24 wins are the team’s most since 2016-17.
NCAA Men’s Basketball
Championship: First Round –
Boise State Colorado vs
Florida
Friday, March 22, 2024
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Florida Gators
Todd Golden
Zyon Pullin
Tyrese Samuel
Will Richard
Media Conference
Colorado 102, Florida 100
TODD GOLDEN: Incredibly proud of my team. I thought
they’ve been great for us all year. Today was no different.
Obviously we didn’t defend the way we needed to to give
ourselves a great chance to win.
But on the glass and offensively I thought we did a pretty
good job most of the game, and proud of the way we
responded going down 10 in the second half. We’re down
13 with 5:23 to go and like all year, this group stayed the
course, stayed together, kept fighting. Found a way to tie
that thing up late, and one possession away from getting
that thing to overtime.
Disappointed because this group had the ability to make a
little bit of a run. We got a tough draw getting Colorado in
this game. They’re 21st overall in KenPom. No other 10
seed is above 33rd. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
They’re a very good team. I expect them to play
Marquette very well on Sunday.
Q. When you guys rallied there at the end, what was
the message to your guys and what do you feel like
they did to tie it up?
TODD GOLDEN: Obviously we just got a little bit more
aggressive defensively. I probably should have got us in
that a little earlier.
With that being said, I, again, thought they kept their
composure really well. Even though we were down a little
bit and we were struggling, our guys weren’t hanging their
heads. They were staying positive and staying together.
Obviously we pressured them. They were throwing the ball
around a little bit. We hit some big shots. Did a good job
attacking the rim, and obviously Walt hit a huge three to tie
that thing up.
Same story as all year, our team has been pretty resilient.
For us to cut that thing and tie it being down 13, I’m really
proud of the way we responded.
Q. Walk us through what you saw on that final
possession and how that unfolded for Colorado.
TODD GOLDEN: I saw them throw it in to Simpson, and I
thought ZP did an incredible job staying down and staying
between him and the basket, and Simpson somehow got
about five feet of separation off ZP, and made a really
tough skilled shot from the baseline.
But again, I thought ZP did his job. Stayed in legal
guarding position. Stayed between the ball and the basket,
and again somehow Simpson just created about seven feet
of separation to get that shot off.
Q. Were you surprised how that unfolded, given how
many fouls were called in the second half combined?
TODD GOLDEN: Not at all.
Q. Why is that?
TODD GOLDEN: I just wasn’t surprised that that wasn’t
called.
Q. For the players, for Zyon and Tyrese especially, can
you sum up what this game means, sum up this run
you guys made, just being Gators?
ZYON PULLIN: Yeah, it was special. I appreciate this
coaching staff and these players for embracing me. The
season didn’t finish the way we anticipated, but I can’t be
more thankful to put this jersey on.
Definitely something we’ll learn from and get better from.
TYRESE SAMUEL: Yeah, same here, so I just can’t thank
the coaches enough for bringing this group together. We
had a great run. Obviously a lot of people didn’t want us
here in March Madness. They thought we were going to
finish ninth in the SEC and we finished sixth or whatever
the case was.
Obviously it’s not the finish we wanted, but I think we put
on for Florida and we put Florida back on the map, and this
is the foundation that’s set, and the standards that are only
going to get better from here.
Q. Losses like this can be kind of tough, especially
when you come back from a deficit and you close it
and you kind of feel the glory coming to you, but how
do you keep your heads up and still praise yourselves
and all the accomplishments that you’ve had this
season?
WILL RICHARD: Yeah, it’s definitely a tough loss for us,
but nobody thought we’d get to this point, so we’re still
proud of each other, proud of this group, and just keep our
head up, improve from it and stuff like that. Definitely still
look at the brighter side. Nobody expected us to get here.
So proud of this group and we did make it this way. So it’s
something to definitely hang your head up high on.
TYRESE SAMUEL: Just to piggyback on what he said,
obviously it’s not the finish that we wanted but we’ve been
through so much this year, you can only smile at the end of
it. Obviously it’s not the result we wanted. We lost off a
game-winner, but that doesn’t matter at the end of the day.
Sometimes we’re the winning team. It happens
sometimes.
Basketball, it’s bound to happen. I’m just happy what our
team did this year. Can’t really complain. They’ll be back
next year and they’ll be a lot better. I’m just excited to see
what’s yet to come for obviously the seniors and the
players for next year, as well.
Q. Todd, you’re not a coach that gets T’ed up much.
What happened on that sequence and with the whistle,
and how frustrating was that?
TODD GOLDEN: Yeah, just a confusing situation. A very
delayed and-one call. Then explained that he tried to blow
his whistle but his whistle wasn’t working but nobody saw
him call a foul until about five seconds after the play.
I wasn’t very happy about it. I thought it was a really — it’s
never happened to me in my coaching career where
somebody’s whistle doesn’t work, and then five seconds
later we’re finding out that it’s an and-one, and then he
asked me to get in the box, and I said I was in the box and
then he gave me a technical.
I’ve had three technicals in my coaching career. He has
given me two of them.
Q. Career-high 33 points from Walter tonight. What
did you think about his performance, and how much
can he be something to build on next year if he
decides to come back?
TODD GOLDEN: Yeah, Walt is a fantastic player. Got a
lot of heart, got a lot of belief. Along with these three up
here, he believed the whole time that we could get back in
the game. Did a great job attacking the rim late, obviously
hit that big three to tie it up.
He’s a stud, man. He’s a Gator. We’re fortunate to have
him.
Q. Obviously with everything that’s happened with
this team, is this the closest team you’ve been a part
of? How close really is this team?
ZYON PULLIN: I’d definitely say it’s probably the closest
team I’ve been on. From the stuff on the court to off the
court, guys just wanting to be around each other,
something that stands out, and I can’t thank these guys
enough for just, like I said earlier, just embracing me.
We’ve got a bunch of guys great on this team, and I’d say
we’re pretty connected.
TODD GOLDEN: This team is fantastic that way. I feel
like our team talent is just really good. I’ve been fortunate
enough to be around a lot of teams that get along well. I
thought my last team in San Francisco was great that way.
We had great camaraderie, great togetherness, and this
team has reminded me a lot of that group and the way
they’re together. They don’t have to force it. They don’t
have to manufacture it. These guys enjoy being around
each other, and it’s part of why we’ve been so successful
this year.
So we’ll continue to — my hope is that it’ll continue to be
that way as this group grows and as our program grows,
but these guys have laid a great foundation for us that way
for sure.
Q. Alex did not play like a freshman tonight. Can you
explain his feelings about his play tonight, especially
in his matchup with Eddie?
TODD GOLDEN: He’s been huge for us all year. He’s
come off the bench, but he along with Tommy, have been
right there with Reese and Micah as super important
players for us, especially in the front court.
Obviously kind of thrust into a tough situation getting his
first start in an NCAA Tournament game, but we knew and
I think these guys would agree that he’d be ready to
compete and ready to fight. It’s one of his best qualities as
a player.
He fouled out, but six points, seven rebounds, six assists,
only one turnover, I thought he did a good job out there
super old fifth-year senior in Lampkin, who’s a super good
player.
Q. Just watching this team battle back like they have
in times past, how much did you just think, oh, we’ve
got this, and then walking off the floor, how much of a
building block can this still be as you move forward?
TODD GOLDEN: Yeah, along with these guys, I always
believed we had a chance. It wasn’t looking great for a
while, but once we pressured them a little bit and they
started throwing it around, I felt like if we could make some
shots, we’d give ourselves a chance.
Again, we did what we needed to do obviously to tie the
game and I thought we had a pretty good defensive
possession on the last possession, and it just didn’t go our
way.
Really proud of where this program is right now, the way
this team has played all year, 24 wins in our league is
really hard to do. We obviously had 14 league wins, if you
combine the regular season and the SEC tournament, and
that’s something to be super proud of. And like Tyrese
said, my hope is that this will be a building block for the
program.
We’re going to miss ZP and Tyrese a lot. They’re going to
be hard to replace. But the goal is that these younger guys
will continue to grow and get better, and we’ll find guys that
are the right fit with great attitudes and great work ethics
and really will want to be Gators. We’ll continue to build it
that way because it’s what I believe in and it’s worked for
us.
A good building block season for us, and our hope is to
continue to raise the bar as we move forward.
Q. Zyon, did you think you got a little bit of a shoulder
on that last play into maybe one of the other players?
Was it difficult to get a feel of the way the game was
being called, especially when whistles aren’t working?
ZYON PULLIN: I mean, just trying to keep playing the
game, let the fouls kind of come. But I mean, just some
tough plays down the stretch, getting started and stuff like
that. I don’t know, it happens. It’s basketball.
Q. Being here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You
have a lot of young basketball stars looking up to you.
Do you have any advice for them, anything you’ve
learned in these moments?
TYRESE SAMUEL: Yeah, just got to accept it sometimes.
Sometimes it’s not always going to go your way, and
there’s always going to be a lot of basketball to be played.
Like we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and if
they all decide to stay together, they’re going to be great in
the long run, and it’s just going to help Florida basketball
grow.
Like from Condo to Will, all them, this team is going to be
great next year as long as we just add the right pieces, I
think they could make a bigger run than we did this year,
so I’m excited to see them.
WILL RICHARD: I agree with what Tyrese said. Just don’t
take any game for granted. It’s a blessing being able to
play the game that you love and the game that you
dreamed of playing, especially at this level. Just have fun
with it. Just take every game, every workout, just
everything and cherish it because basketball doesn’t lie. It
doesn’t dribble for a long time. Just enjoy it while you can.
ZYON PULLIN: Yeah, I mean, kind of what he said, just
cherishing it all. You’re not promised to keep playing and
stuff like that. I think just cherishing every single day, just
keep showing up, just keep working because it all comes to
an end, especially — it goes by pretty fast.
I think just embracing every gle day and just keep working.
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