Guard Nick Calathes scored 21 points and center Alex Tyus added 13 as Florida jumped out to an early 20-2 lead and held on for a 74-60 victory against in-state rival Miami Friday night in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.
The top-seeded Gators (25-10) improved to 18-1 at the O’Connell Center this season, tying a school record, and will host No. 2 seed Penn State on Tuesday night.
Forward Dwayne Collins led the Hurricanes (19-13) with 17 points and eight rebounds, while guard Jack McClinton was limited to just 13 points in his final collegiate game.
Miami started the season ranked No. 16 in the men’s poll, but dropped tough in-conference games to Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Maryland down the stretch.
As a team, Florida made seven of its first 10 shots and outrebounded the Canes 37-25 overall.