No. 19 Florida 67, No. 13 Kansas 61: Scottie Wilbekin scored a career-high 18 points as the Gators forced a season-high 24 turnovers to down the visiting Jayhawks in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
Wilbekin added six assists and four steals while Dorian Finney-Smith contributed 15 points for Florida (7-2), which has won 22 straight non-conference home games. Casey Prather – the team’s leading scorer – overcame a quiet 1-of-5 effort from the field with 10 of his 12 points over the final 3:12 as the Gators overcame a season-low 37 percent shooting effort.
Freshman Andrew Wiggins set career highs with 26 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas (6-3), which is off to its worst nine-game start since 2005. The Jayhawks’ 24 miscues matched their most since a win against Missouri on March 5, 2011.
Florida missed eight of its first nine shots and quickly fell behind 10-3, but utilized a 1-3-1 half-court trap to force Kansas into 16 first-half turnovers. The Jayhawks committed six turnovers and missed eight shots over the next 8:43, allowing the Gators to go on a 21-0 run and take a 36-21 halftime advantage behind three 3-pointers and 12 first-half points from Finney-Smith.
Kansas was unable to get any closer than eight points until the final minutes when Wiggins hit three straight 3-pointers over a 1:28 span to close the gap to 60-55 with 56 seconds remaining. The Jayhawks could get no closer than four, however, as Kasey Hill and Prather combined for seven free throws thereafter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Big 12 fell to 6-3 in the Challenge with one game remaining between Oklahoma and Texas A&M on Dec. 21. … Kansas’ 16 first-half turnovers matched its season high for a game. … Finney-Smith – a Virginia Tech transfer who connected on five of his first 17 3-point attempts over the team’s first eight games – went 4-of-6 beyond the arc Tuesday.
Kansas | Florida | |
Andrew Wiggins 26 | Scoring | Scottie Wilbekin 18 |
Naadir Tharpe 5 | Assists | Scottie Wilbekin 6 |
Andrew Wiggins 11 | Rebounds | Casey Prather 8 |
Andrew Wiggins 8 | Free Throws Made | Casey Prather 10 |
Perry Ellis 2 | Steals | Scottie Wilbekin 4 |
Joel Embiid 3 | Blocks | Patric Young 1 |