Florida ‘D’ shuts out UD’s Sibert

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dayton, the last school from a non-BCS conference in the NCAA Tournament, saw its upset run come to an abrupt end Saturday against top-seeded Florida. The Flyers’ efficient offense and high-scoring Jordan Sibert had carried them throughout the Big Dance, but both came up empty in the South Regional Final.

“It’s always hard to lose the last game of the season, but in the back of my mind I’m not sure that a team in the nation captured more people’s hearts than these guys did, and they did it the right way,’’ Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “Unfortunately we were bad in a couple spots in the game. A lot of it hard to do with Florida.’’

Dayton had upset Syracuse, Ohio State and Stanford, and was looking to be the third No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since 1986. But Florida cruised to a 62-52 win in front of 15,443 to earn a Final Four date with Michigan State or Connecticut, and the Gators did it by smothering Dayton defensively. The 52 points were a season-low for the Flyers, and Sibert was held scoreless.

The redshirt junior guard had mustered double-digit scoring in seven of his previous eight games, but was blanked by the Gators’ defense. He took three shots in the first six minutes, and didn’t take another the rest of the night.

“He got some good ones early in the game. He didn’t make them,’’ Miller said. “They did a really good job identifying him in transition, where a lot of his damage comes from. Within our halfcourt, I don’t think they left him a whole lot when the ball was inside-out. I think a lot of other guys were open.’’


The Gators defense smothered the Dayton shooters, led by shot-blocking center Patric Young. The senior had four blocks, and the smaller Flyers were constantly having to alter shots because of him.

“They’re a very big team. Once you drove, you had to think pass because you had Patric Young with his big ol’ body there,’’ Dyshawn Pierre said. “It’s hard to finish sometimes and we missed some shots just because of their length.’’

Pierre led Dayton with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Flyers combined for just 34 points on 12-of-37 from the floor.