Florida Gators Basketball: Rutgers Rips Florida in Overtime Upset

The No. 10 Florida Gators were dealt another loss on Thursday night, only this one will sting a lot harder than those dropped to Ohio State and Syracuse. 

After two overtimes and a tremendous amount of drama, the Gators fell 85-83 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a team that is 8-5 on the season thus far. 

In fact, Rutgers struggled just to get past NJIT on December 22nd, having to come from a tie ballgame at the half to finally put the game out of reach. Rutgers was on their game Thursday night though, and a top-ten team paid the ultimate price. 

Eli Carter went off in an upset that saw him shoot 12-for-24, netting 31 points for the Scarlet Knights. The freshman guard also grabbed 7 boards and dished out 7 assists on the night. 

The Gators nearly had all five starters post double-digit production, but had little to say in points off the bench. They were outscored 22-8 in that regard. 

Not only was Carter on his game, he was also clutch, hitting a late 3-pointer in the first overtime to keep an upset alive. The Gators had their fair shot and missed. Erving Walker had a foul line shot hit off the rim and bounce out in the final seconds. 

The game played at Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway saw students storm the court in the biggest win for the program since last season's upset of then No. 9 Villanova. 

Florida now has a string of what should be beatable teams in Yale, UAB and Tennessee. The obvious note is that Rutgers should have been handled despite playing in what was a raucous environment. 

The game was lauded as the return of Mike Rosario who left Rutgers for Florida. He was welcomed back with open arms as he played only 14 minutes and went 2-for-6 from the field for 5 points. 

Rutgers will no doubt ride this emotional win into the New Year when they take on USF on New Year's Day.

Another top-tier team falls in what has been a tremendous season. 

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