Omar Payne joins growing list of players to leave Florida
Forward Omar Payne entered the transfer portal Tuesday and became the fifth player to leave coach Mike White's program since the end of the season. The 6-foot-10 Payne joined shooting guard Noah Locke, backup point guard Ques Glover and reserve forward Osayi Osifo in looking to play elsewhere next season. Star point guard and leading scorer Tre Mann entered the NBA draft with plans of hiring an agent, meaning he has no intention of returning to school for his junior season. Payne, a sophomore from Kissimmee, averaged 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing close to 16 minutes a game this season. Only Keyontae Johnson remains from Florida's 2018 class, which lost talented point guard Andrew Nembhard to Gonzaga last year and now is without Locke.
Unbeaten Zags keep rolling with 83-65 rout of Creighton
Nembhard had 17 points and eight assists, both season highs, to keep the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed rolling Sunday with a 83-65 rout of fifth-seeded Creighton in the West Region semifinals. Defensively, the Zags held Creighton to 40 points over the final 30 minutes as they methodically turned a 27-25 game into a blowout. “They just play so fast, so efficient with everything they do," said Marcus Zegarowski, who led Creighton with 19 points. That just about finished off Creighton as the Zags moved within three wins of becoming the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976. Gonzaga: The Zags have won their first three tournament games by a combined 77 points.
No. 1 Gonzaga faces stiff test against No. 16 Virginia
Gonzaga has played one close game, a five-point win over West Virginia, and is winning by nearly 18 points per game. The Hawkeyes dropped a spot in this week's AP Top 25 after losing by 11 to Gonzaga. 19 Michigan, which moved up six spots in this week's poll, faces Nebraska. RANKED VS. RANKED: Two games on Wednesday feature ranked teams facing each other. 13 Creighton (6-2), which dropped four spots in this week's poll after losing to Marquette.
No. 1 Gonzaga rallies to beat No. 11 West Virginia 87-82
11 West Virginia 87-82. Gonzaga (3-0) has won seven straight, dating to the end of last season, and already has two wins over top 15 opponents — Kansas and West Virginia (3-1). When Suggs returned in the second half, Gonzaga charged back. The Bulldogs have opened this season with wins over two top 15 foes — Kansas and West Virginia — as well as Auburn, all on neutral courts. West Virginia guard Sean McNeil also left during the first half after taking an elbow to the forehead.
Floridas Mann returning for sophomore year, chance to start
GAINESVILLE, Fla. Florida guard Tre Mann is returning for his sophomore season. Mann surprised the Gators by announcing in late April he planned to explore his professional options. But once starting point guard Andrew Nembhard opted to transfer he eventually landed at Gonzaga last month that opened the door for Mann's return to Gainesville. Mann should get a shot at playing the point, although Florida also has sophomore Ques Glover and former Cleveland State standout Tyree Appleby at the all-important position. Two Florida starters guard Scottie Lewis and forward Keyontae Johnson decided to stay in college after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the postseason.
Florida hoops team adds major transfer in Kerry Blackshear
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Floridas basketball team added a major piece on Friday, officially announcing that graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. was joining the program. 1-rated graduate transfer in the ESPN transfer rankings. The addition of Blackshear bolsters Floridas roster immensely and likely pushes the Gators into the top-10 conversation. Florida was already sitting well from a personnel status after point guard Andrew Nembhard withdrew his name from the NBA draft. Small forward Scottie Lewis and point guard Tre Mann were 247 Sports five-star signees.
Mike White likes Gators' talent, despite lack of experience
FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. - Last season, Mike White admitted that he sometimes had a tough time reaching his team. He affects the game in a lot of ways outside of scoring, which is pretty unique for high school kids. The Gators also signed 6-foot-9-inch center Omar Payne from Montverde Academy, ranked in the top 50 as well. White admitted that he'll have to build this group of players into a team, but praised their makeup off the court. "We started three freshmen that had really good freshman campaigns, and I really like our incoming class, its very highly ranked.