Bulldogs whip No. 11 Florida

Posted 6:20AM on Saturday 9th March 2002 ( 23 years ago )

ATLANTA - Mississippi State was feeling a bit overlooked. The Bulldogs took out their frustration on Florida. Timmy Bowers scored 17 points, and Mississippi State shut down the 11th-ranked Gators from start to finish for a 62-52 victory Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament. ``A lot of other people thought we were underdogs,'' Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said. ``We didn't feel like we were underdogs.'' Mississippi State (24-7) was the higher-seeded team, but Florida was the clear favorite. After all, the Gators spent most of the season in the Top 10, rising as high as No. 2 before a late-season slump knocked them back. The Bulldogs made a one-week appearance in The Associated Press rankings back in early January and garnered little attention, even though they entered the tournament with a five-game winning streak. ``The real facts are the computer,'' Stansbury said. ``Our RPI is higher than Florida's. We have more wins than Florida. We have more wins over Top-10 teams than Florida. No one recognized that.'' The Gators (22-8), a possible No. 1 NCAA seed just a few weeks ago, dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time all year with three losses in their last five regular-season games. After beating last-place Auburn in the opening round of the SEC tournament, Florida hardly resembled the high-flying team that eclipsed 100 points five times this season. The Gators missed their first 10 shots and never improved much, making only 31 percent (20-of-64). The Bulldogs clogged up the lane whenever forward Udonis Haslem touched the ball and still managed to clamp down on Florida's perimeter shooters. Haslem played only 18 minutes, hampered by foul trouble. The Gators made just five of 20 outside the 3-point arc. ``I spent most of time on the bench,'' Haslem said. ``That's the worst thing about it. I put my team in a bad position tonight.'' Also, Mississippi State had only 10 turnovers against Florida's pressing, trapping defense. ``Ten turnovers is pretty remarkable for us,'' Stansbury said. ``Sometimes, we have 10 turnovers before we leave the locker room.'' When the buzzer sounded, Derrick Zimmerman taunted the Florida fans with the ``Gator Chomp,'' then waved his arms defiantly to indicate that their SEC tournament was over. ``We knew who we were playing and what was at stake,'' Zimmerman said. ``We wanted to get a little respect tonight. What better way to do it? We beat 'em at their own game.'' The Bulldogs advanced to meet LSU in an unlikely semifinal Saturday. The Tigers upset No. 17 Georgia earlier in the day. Florida, which led the SEC in scoring with an average of 81.4 points, barely managed to beat its worst offensive showing of the season, which came in a 68-51 loss to Mississippi the game that began the Gators' slump. ``Our offense was not very good tonight from start to finish,'' coach Billy Donovan said. ``I don't think we played with the heart and passion and character you would hope that we would play with with this much on the line. The bottom line is they flat-out wanted it a little bit more than we did.'' Mississippi State demonstrated just how far Florida has fallen. On Feb. 2, the Bulldogs were routed 76-48 in Gainesville. Bowers hit only three of 12 shots for eight points in that game, but he took over in the second half Friday. The sophomore guard scored all of his points after the break, hitting a couple of 3-pointers. He also grabbed six rebounds. Mississippi State trailed 25-22 after a sloppy first half, but went ahead for good with a quick 8-0 spurt early in the second. Marckell Patterson finished the run with a 3-pointer. Florida got as close as 40-38 on two free throws by Haslem with 9:30 remaining. But Bowers swished a 3, then scored again on the inside to give the Bulldogs a cushion. Justin Hamilton led Florida with 13 points, and Brett Nelson, with 10, was his only teammate in double figures. Zimmerman scored 15 points, and Michal Ignerski added 14 for the Bulldogs. Haslem got two fouls in the first five minutes and sat out the rest of the half. Then he was called for his third foul, an offensive charge, less than a minute into the second half. The All-SEC selection finished with seven points and four rebounds. Donovan accused the Bulldogs of taking dives to draw fouls against Haslem. Mississippi State center Mario Austin disagreed. ``There was not any acting,'' Austin said. ``I'm a very good charge-taker. I knew he likes to dip his shoulder. I knew if he got one quick foul, I could get another. The plan worked.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/197711