The Gators are still dancing.
Florida came back in the second half and edged Virginia Tech 75-70 in overtime of their NCAA tournament opener on Friday afternoon.
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It took a second-half surge and a clutch shot in overtime to get there.
Tre Mann knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play in overtime to give Florida the separation it needed to escape the Hokies.
The seventh-seeded Gators (15-9) shrugged off an uneven first half, the loss of guard Tyree Appleby to a nasty unintentional elbow to the face and some late missed free throws to move on in March Madness.
It looked like things would end in regulation for Florida.
Scottie Lewis knocked down a pair of free throws with 28 seconds to play and Nahiem Alleyne missed a potential game-tying 3 on the ensuing trip down the court. That should have sealed it. The Hokies immediately fouled Anthony Duruji, who only needed to hit one of his two foul shots to sew up the win.
Duruji missed both. Alleyne didn’t miss his next shot to tie, draining a 3 with 3 seconds to go to send the game into OT.
Appleby was struck by Keve Aluma’s elbow when the latter was passing the ball. Florida, down 44-38 at that point with just under 13 minutes to play, took off after that. The Gators outscored the Hokies 37-26 the rest of the way.
Appleby received stitches in his forehead and didn’t return.
Chris Castleton had a spectacular game for the Gators, leading with 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Scottie Lewis had 15 points, Mann 14 and Noah Locke 10.
Florida will face No. 15 Oral Roberts in the second round on Sunday. That game will be shown on truTV
Florida benched sophomore forward Omar Payne for the opener. Payne was ejected from the SEC tournament after elbowing a Tennessee player in the face.