WATCH: Will Richard reacts to Sweet 16 win after scoring team-high 15 points
SAN FRANCISCO — The No. 1 Florida Gators advanced to the Elite Eight on Thursday with 87-71 win over Maryland in the Sweet 16. Six UF players scored in double figures, led by starting guard Will Richard.
Florida’s bench outscored the Terrapins 29-3.
“Maryland is a talented group, but I feel like our team is a lot more deep,” Richard said. “We got a lot of guys that come in and impact the game. They don’t play much outside of those seven guys, so we knew we had to get out in transition and wear them down a little.”
Will Richard postgame interview
Richard scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half. Despite his strong start, the Gators only led by two points at halftime after committing 13 turnovers against Maryland.
Florida regrouped and turned the ball over just four times in the second half.
“First half was sloppy. We can’t turn the ball over 13 times in the half,” Richard said. “Just rushing. We had to get back to playing with poise and just making a simple play.
“I feel like we did a great job of bouncing back and getting back to ourselves in the second half.”
Richard hit a 3-pointer during Florida’s early 11-0 run, scored seven straight points later in the first half and then had the Gators’ last basket of the half, which put them up 40-38 at the break.
Richard made one more triple in the second half to push the lead to 80-64 with 4:20 left. He shot 6-foot-9 from the floor (3-for-6 beyond the arc) with four rebounds and three assists.
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“It definitely feels good,” Richard said of making the Elite Eight. “You dream of this as a kid. But definitely know we gotta prepare for the next opponent.”
Florida plays Texas Tech on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS. The Gators will need another productive performance from Richard, who’s averaging 16.1 points in his last 10 games, scoring in double figures in eight of them.
He was plus-23 against Maryland, leading all players. Richard, who was the first commitment at UF for Todd Golden, is now helping the Gators dance deep into March.
“I feel like just being the first one here, I know what the coaches are expecting. Me and Coach Golden came in with the same mentality, trying to bring Florida back to that national relevance,” Richard said. “For me, just being an everyday guy, making sure the guys know the standard that he wants guys at. Just bringing that edge every day so we can be where we want to be.”
