NCAA Sweet 16 Final Score: Florida Gators Down Marquette Golden Eagles, 68-58

The Marquette Golden Eagles were counting on their senior leaders to get them past the Florida Gators in their Sweet 16 match up in the NCAA West Regional Semifinals. Instead, it was the Gators poise and patience in the half court and ability to pressure Marquette and slow down their transition game that was the difference.

"You have to make shots, particularly on this stage, particularly in a tournament setting," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "But if you don't make shots, the easiest thing to say is, well, we just missed shots that we typically take. That wasn't what happened. They were really good. They were outstanding. And credit goes to their defensive game plan relative to what we were trying to do offensively."

Florida advances to meet Louisville in the Elite Eight on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ.

Florida pushed their six-point half time lead to as much as 14 in the second half, but Marquette fought hard and refused to die. They took advantage of Florida's missed shots and ramped up their defensive pressure to force a few turnovers that cut the lead to six with three minutes to go.

Instead of a comeback for the Eagles, Erving Walker nailed a three for Florida to push the game out of reach and secure the win for the Gators.

Florida, the best three-point shooting team in the nation, could have put this game away early had they made a higher percentage of open threes they were able to generate with their ball screens and solid passing. The Gators finished the game just 7-27 (26%) from behind the arc after shooting 38 percent this season.

Even when the shots weren't falling, if they took their time and used up the clock, Florida was able to control the tempo. They got into trouble at times when they got baited into a more hectic pace that favored the smaller Eagles team.

Bradley Beal showed why NBA scouts are so high on him. He was super efficient on offense (21 points, 8-10 shooting and contributed to the win with his defense (2 steals, 2 blocks) and six rebounds. Beal played within the framework of the offense but on a few critical occasions took his man off the dribble and got the rim.

"Whenever you're missing shots from the outside, you should keep attacking the basket. If you're wide open, of course wants you to take them. You have to be more aggressive and keep attacking the basket and start inside and come out outside," Beal said.

Offensively, Marquette's only half court production was forward Davante Gardner off the bench. He was able to get a few solid looks in the paint. Beyond that, the only way the Eagles scored consistently was in transition. They shot just 31 percent for the game.

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NCAA Sweet 16 Score: Florida Gators Up On Marquette 36-30 At Half

The Gators didn't shoot the ball well from three (28.6 percent); didn't dominate the offensive glass (4 OReb); and Patric Young wasn't able to establish any kind of rhythm in the post (3 points) but Florida took a 36-30 half time lead over the Marquette Golden Eagles thanks to their defense.

Marquette shot just 31 percent from the field in the first half and only seemed to be effective if they were running the ball. Billy Donovan had his Florida team picking up the Golden Eagles full court which seemed to take Marquette out of any kind of flow.

In the first half anyway, the equation was simple: If Florida scored or was able to prevent a break away, Marquette found it nearly impossible to score. Offensively, the Gators were patient and moved the ball and were able to get open looks. If they had connected on a handful more of those uncontested shots, they would have been up by double digits or more.

Bradley Beal was the star of the show. The highly-touted NBA prospect led all scorers with 10 points on 4-5 shooting. He also impacted the game without the ball, logging four rebounds, two steals and a block in 15 minutes of play.

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NCAA Tournament West Regional: Florida Vs. Marquette Won't Be Track Meet

The Florida Gators and Marquette Golden Eagles meet in Phoenix for a Sweet 16 match up that promises plenty of offense and some NBA quality talent.