The season is over for the Minnesota Gophers.
Florida jumped out to a monster lead in the first half, survived a furious comeback led by Andre Hollins, and pulled away late for a 78-64 win over the Gophers in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
The Gators torched the Gophers with a red-hot first half and took a 48-27 lead into the locker room.
Minnesota, led by Hollins, rallied in the second half, outscoring Florida, 23-to-12 over the first 11 minutes. Hollins scored 12 points — all on three-pointers — during the stretch.
The run would come to a screeching halt when Hollins picked up his fourth foul with 9:21 left in the game. Minnesota scored just two points with Hollins on the bench for nearly four minutes, and they never regained momentum.
The Gators closed the game on a 18-to-12 run.
Hollins finished with a team-high 25 points to lead the Gophers. He hit a team NCAA tournament-record six threes and finished 8-13 shooting. The rest of the Gophers combined for 35 points on 12-36 shooting.
The loss ends the careers of four Gophers seniors: Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams, Julian Welch and Andre Ingram.
