With a Final Four appearance on the line, the (4) Florida Gators (27-9) could not close out the game against the (7) South Carolina Gamecocks (26-10). The two familiar opponents battled it out to the very end, but the Gamecocks outlasted the Gators in the final minutes.
South Carolina advances to its first Final Four appearance in school history with the 77-70 win over Florida.
After a mostly evenly matched first half, the Gators pulled ahead in the final minutes of the half to go to the locker room with a 40-33 lead.
Florida returned to the court without the intensity it had to close out the first half, and South Carolina soon took a 49-48 lead with 11:28 to go.