NCAA basketball tournament: Virginia stumbles in season-ending loss to Florida By that point, the Cavaliers were too sped up to have the poise necessary to complete an uncontested transition bucket. Florida (24-10) scored a three-pointer on its next possession to put the Gators up by 19. And so Virginia (22-10) concluded a season in which it recorded its most wins in 17 years by posting the program's worst NCAA tournament defeat since the Cavaliers lost by 37 to Michigan in the Elite Eight in 1989. Virginia was stingy against Florida's prolific three-point shooting for much of the afternoon, but that ended up mattering little because the Gators proved they could do something the Cavaliers could not: adjust. When Florida wasn't penetrating into the lane and collecting either short-range shots or putback attempts off offensive rebounds, the Gators were pestering Virginia with their full-court press. The Cavaliers registered 13 turnovers Friday, slightly above the 11.4 they averaged entering the game. But the effect of Florida's persistent pressure was noticeable. Junior guard Jontel Evans, Virginia's primary ballhandler, raced to weave through Florida's press and get past midcourt, but too frequently he lost control of the ball or sent passes out of the reach of their intended targets. Evans, Zeglinski and Scott each tallied three turnovers. Scott finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. But as has frequently been the case this season, he was Virginia's only consistent scoring option. No other Cavalier scored more than eight points. Virginia shot 38.3 percent from the field and 17.6 percent (3 of 17) from three-point range. As they have all season, the Cavaliers defended the perimeter well Friday. Florida missed 14 of its 15 three-point attempts in the first half. But the Gators made up for their errant long-range shooting by dominating the offensive glass. Florida turned seven offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points before the break. Meantime, Virginia grabbed just one offensive rebound and did not score a single second chance point in the first half. Take away Florida's three-point attempts before the intermission, and the Gators shot 11 for 15 (73.3 percent) from the field. Scott got off to a decent start offensively. He made 3 of 6 shots and tallied eight points, but he had to sit out the final four minutes of the first half after picking up his second foul. Reserve forward Darion Atkins, a freshman, picked up two fouls in 31 seconds in the first half, which necessitated his exit from the game and left Virginia to rely largely on a four-guard lineup the rest of the period. The Gators, who played nine players in the first half, utilized their full-court press more frequently as the opening period progressed. And while Florida's press was not as intense as perhaps the Cavaliers expected, it did fluster Virginia into several turnovers. Florida reserve guard Scottie Wilbekin scored the Gators" first three-pointer of the game with just more than a minute remaining to push Virginia's deficit to eight. The Cavaliers entered halftime trailing, 30-22, with Florida owning all the momentum.