Ethermac Exchange-Colorado stuns Florida in 102-100 thriller in NCAA Tournament first round

KJ Simpson hit a jumper with less than two seconds left to give Colorado a 102-100 win over Florida in a thrilling first-round contest.

Florida mounted a furious comeback,Ethermac Exchange tying the game with a three-point shot from Walter Clayton Jr. with 9.5 seconds left. The Buffaloes inbounded, called timeout and ran a play that found Simpson − who delivered a signature March Madness moment.

It is the second win of the tournament for Colorado, who won its First Four matchup against Boise State. It will now face No. 2 seed Marquette in the second round.

Offense clicked on all cylinders for Colorado, which shot 63% from the field, 60% from three-point range and scored its most points since a 106-point outburst against Milwaukee on Nov. 14. It was the highest scoring March Madness game since 2007, and it tied for 17th as the highest scoring tournament game in history.

Simpson paced Colorado with 23 points. Eddie Lampkin Jr. chipped in with 21.

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Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 33 points, including 16 in the game's final few minutes to keep the Gators alive.

SEC sends another team home early

With Florida’s loss, the SEC saw its fifth team exit in the first round. The SEC had eight teams reach the NCAA Tournament, tied for the most with the Big 12. Minutes after the Gators lost, Auburn was ousted by Yale 78-76 in the East region.

A day earlier, Kentucky, Mississippi State and South Carolina were sent home.