Florida stops UCLA, enters NCAA Elite 8

MEMPHIS, Tennessee(AP) – The Florida Gators are back where their last three seasons have ended with yet another chance to go to the Final Four.

Being in the Elite Eight again, though, simply isn’t enough.

Michael Frazier II hit five three-pointers and finished with 19 points as the Gators beat UCLA, 79-68, Thursday night to reach its fourth consecutive NCAA regional final.

Florida will next face No. 11 Dayton, which beat Stanford, 82-72.

In the West division, No. 2 Wisconsin clobbered No. 6 Baylor, 69-52, while the top-seeded Arizona held off No. 4 San Diego State, 70-64.

“We just talked about it, and it’s not enough for us,” Florida senior Will Yeguete said. “We have two days to get ready for a good team, and we’re just going to go for it on Saturday.”

The Gators (35-2) also extended the best winning streak in school history to 29 straight in reaching the South Regional final.

“From a team aspect, I think we’ve done a great job of just staying in the moment and just trying to chase greatness,” Frazier said. “When you do that, complacency isn’t a factor so I think we’ve done a great job all year of just staying in the moment and chasing greatness.”

The tournament’s overall top seed will play 11th-seeded Dayton on Saturday night for a trip to the Final Four. Dayton beat Stanford 82-72 earlier Thursday night.

“Right now we got to put this game behind us and get focused on Dayton,” Florida senior Scottie Wilbekin said. “They’re a great team. Everybody is at this point in the season, and so we got to be locked in and ready because it’s going to be a battle.”

Wilbekin added 13 points for Florida. Casey Prather had 12 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith had 10. Kasey Hill had 10 assists. The Gators have not lost since Dec. 2.

The Gators lost to Michigan a year ago in a regional final.