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March 29, 2024

NCAA South Region: No. 1-seeded Florida shakes off pesky Albany, 67-55

Florida Albany

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

Albany center John Puk (44) fouls Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) during the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament on Thursday, March 20, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.

Updated Thursday, March 20, 2014 | 3:47 p.m.

ORLANDO, Fla.— Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, most of them on dunks, and top-seeded Florida used a second-half surge to beat No. 16 seed Albany 67-55 in the NCAA tournament Thursday.

The Gators (33-2) showed some vulnerability, though, while extending their school-record winning streak to 27 games.

Coach Billy Donovan's team sleepwalked through the first half, swapping the lead back and forth with the pesky Great Danes, but Florida's bench provided a much-needed spark.

Finney-Smith, the Southeastern Conference's sixth man of the year, was 6-of-10 shooting. Freshman guard Kasey Hill, who wasn't sure he would be able to play because of turf toe, chipped in 10 points.

Patric Young finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Casey Prather (16 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (10) also reached double figures for Florida, which will play ninth-seeded Pittsburgh in the South Region on Saturday.

Pittsburgh eliminates Colorado, 77-48

Click to enlarge photo

Colorado forward Xavier Johnson (2) dunks the ball during the second half in a second-round game against Pittsburgh in the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.

Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, helping Pittsburgh build a 28-point lead on the way to a 77-48 rout of Colorado in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday at Orlando.

The Panthers (26-9), seeded ninth in the South Region, shot 51 percent and played stifling defense in advancing to a third-round matchup Saturday against No. 1 seed Florida.

Colorado (23-12) was eager to make amends for an early exit from the tournament a year ago but had no answers for the 6-foot-9 Zanna. The Pitt center made six of seven shots in the first half, and the Panthers didn't have any difficulty finishing off the overwhelmed Buffaloes.

Josh Scott led the eighth-seeded Buffaloes with 14 points, however Colorado couldn't overcome a subpar performance from Askia Booker.

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