UConn vs. Florida: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

Connecticut battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to secure a vital 63-59 road win over the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon.

The game was billed as a rematch of the 2014 Final Four contest between these two squads, which UConn won 63-53 en route to their national championship win. Neither team appears capable of reaching such lofty heights again this season, but the two young squads put on a fine show regardless.

Florida (7-6) was the better team for the game's first half-hour, but the hard-fought contest swung on a 10-0 second half run by the Huskies. It took UConn (7-5) until the 5:36 mark of the second half to take their first lead of the game at 54-53 on a Rodney Purvis triple, a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they secured the win with excellent free-throw shooting down the hectic final stretch.

Eugene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union noted the Gators' struggles to close out games this season: 

Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith was the preeminent player in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday, overcoming early shooting struggles to rack up 19 points and five boards. The Day's Gavin Keefe provided a quote from UConn head coach Kevin Ollie after the game:

A gimpy Ryan Boatright led the Huskies with 13 points despite shooting just 2-of-11 from the field. He did make seven of eight free throws, including four in the game's final minute. He also picked up six points and six assists in the game.

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Omar Calhoun chipped in 12 points off the bench for UConn, while Chris Chiozza did a bit of everything for Florida, racking up eight points, four boards, three assists and two steals.

Both teams struggled from the open floor early on. The Huskies made just two of their first nine shots despite getting plenty of open looks for Boatright and Purvis. 

Florida's apparent strategy was death by three-pointer early on, but they had a tough time converting at the start with two three-pointers on consecutive possessions from freshman sharpshooter Chris Chiozza at approximately the 12-minute mark in the first half.

This opened up the floor a bit for Florida, who found it easier to make entry passes from this point forward and kept the Huskies off their toes. GatorSports.com's Kevin Brockway was a fan of Chiozza and Kasey Hill's play in the first half:

The Gators utilized a swarming full-court-press defense, which did well to stymie the Huskies on several early possessions.

UConn would commit six turnovers in the first 12 minutes of action, but the leadership and composure of Boatright and guard Daniel Hamilton helped the Huskies to clean up their act in the opening frame. 

Florida took a 22-15 lead on a trey from Michael Frazier II, drawing huge cheers from the crowd forcing a timeout from UConn head coach Kevin Ollie with just over eight minutes to go in the first half.

UConn struggled to get creative and break down the Gator's pressure, slowing down the pace of the game. Still, both teams picked up their shooting as the half went on and the Huskies did very well to drain the shot clock on defense and prevent the Gators from going on any big runs. The Republican-American's Ed Daigneault liked the athletic play of backup Huskies guard Terrence Samuel early on:

Florida's poor free-throw shooting—50 percent in the first half—prevented them from creating any sizable advantages.

Boatright finally got his first points of the game on a four-point play with just over six minutes to go in the first half, drawing a foul on a corner three and doing well to maintain his form and sink the tough basket. This cut the Gators' lead to 24-21.

The two teams spent the rest of the opening half mostly trading free throws. Boatright could never quite find a rhythm in this one and his frustrations might have boiled over a bit at the end of the first half, as the refs had to review a questionable offensive foul to see if it was of the flagrant variety.

The Associated Press Mark Long gave his take on the play in question, which did not go down as a flagrant foul as the replays made it clear there was some playacting involved on Florida's part: 

Both teams mostly traded free throws down the final stretch of the first half, with the Gators taking a well-deserved 37-31 lead into the locker room over the defending national champs.

The Gators came out firing in the second half, rallying behind a Finney-Smith triple, his first of the game, and embarking upon a 9-3 run to open up a 46-34 advantage. NBC Sports' Rob Dauster worried about UConn's ability to keep the game competitive:

UConn refused to go down easy. Omar Calhoun notched eight points, including a pair of three pointers in the first 10 minutes of the second half, while center Amidah Brimah did well to make his presence felt inside with several nice plays on both ends of the court, including a mean swat on a Jon Horford dunk attempt.

Still, the Huskies struggled to keep up with Florida's aggressive play at times. Ollie kept burning timeouts, leaving the team with just one in the chamber for the game's final 10 minutes. Both teams piled up plenty of fouls in the second half.

The Gators strong shooting eventually dissipated, with much of the credit going to Brimah, who finally claimed the restricted area as his own with several strong defensive efforts. UConn would take advantage of the lull to go on a thrilling 10-0 run.

Brimah set up the Huskies first lead of the game, notching his second block of the half and setting up the Huskies next possession, on which Purvis drained a deep trey for the 54-53 lead. Fans started to take notice of Brimah's renewed efforts in this contest:

Poor shooting would afflict both squads down the stretch. Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant noted UConn's stifling defensive play in the second half: 

Florida appeared rattled and couldn't get any of the good looks they found so often in the first half. A Purvis triple with 3:28 to go gave the Huskies a three-point lead, but Jacob Kurtz would score a tip in on the next possession to cut UConn's lead to one.

Brimah, for all his excellent second-half play, wasn't immune to mistakes. With just over two minutes remaining, he failed to recognize a dwindling shot clock and passed the ball back out beyond the three-point line, squandering a late UConn possession.

Florida had a chance to take the lead with 39 seconds left in the game, but Alex Murphy missed both of his shots form the charity stripe, which put the Gators in must-foul situation. Boatright and Samuel would make six out of six free throws combined in the final 33 seconds, sealing the 63-59 win for the Huskies.

It's a crushing loss for the Gators, who will find it tough to pick up wins in the SEC this season. At this point, Kentucky looks set to absolutely dominate that conference. UConn should have an easier time picking up wins in the AAC, and it's clear the team has the drive and attitude to complement the obvious pockets of talent on the squad.