Florida Gators vs Oklahoma Sooners Match Player Stats On Dec 01, 2021

Tanner Groves scored 20 to lift Oklahoma to a 74-67 win over No. 14 Florida on Wednesday night in Norman, Okla.

After Colin Castleton gave the Gators a 52-50 lead with 11:38 to play, Florida went more than eight minutes without hitting another field goal.

The Gators missed seven consecutive shots during a 19-7 Sooners run that saw the Sooners grab control.

But Florida made it difficult, with a quick 8-0 run -- including a pair of 3-pointers from Tyree Appleby -- to pull within two with less than two minutes remaining.

Oklahoma broke the streak when Elijah Harkless hit a cutting Jalen Hill for a layup with 1:34 left. Hill was fouled as he laid it up and hit the free throw to give the Sooners some more breathing room.

Jordan Goldwire's steal with 22 seconds left, and Hill's free throws put the game away.

Hill added a career-high 18 points for the Sooners (7-1), going 6 of 8 from the floor with four rebounds and four assists, while Umoja Gibson had 15 points.

Hill scored 12 of his points after halftime, including the last seven Oklahoma points and nine of the last 11.

Phlandrous Fleming Jr. led the Gators (6-1) with 17 points while Castleton added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Florida's bench outscored Oklahoma's 19-6 but the Gators missed 10 of their last 13 shots.

The Sooners scored the game's first nine points and led by 10, 14-4, less than five minutes into the game.

But then Oklahoma missed its next seven shots to let Florida back in the game.

Florida took the lead briefly late in the first half before the Sooners hit a pair of free throws late to take a 37-36 lead into halftime.

The Gators were just 4 of 24 (16.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line, missing all nine from behind the arc in the first half. But Florida was 14 of 17 from inside the arc in the first half to stay in the game.

Oklahoma shot 49.1 percent from the floor.

At halftime, former Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who retired after last season, was honored. Kruger coached both the Sooners and Gators to the Final Four.

--Field Level Media