Certain aspects of the Gators game helped seperate themselves in what started off as a tight bout with Maryland

Florida and Maryland squared off in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night at Chase Center in San Francisco, and Florida advanced to the Elite Eight on Saturday with a 87-71 win.

Florida rode a lopsided margin in bench points to its Sweet 16 win over Maryland on Thursday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco. An inside look at the effort:

Will Richard led a balanced offensive attack for UF with 15 points, one of six players in double figures. Alijah Martin added 14 points and six rebounds, while Thomas Haugh had 13 points and nine rebounds and Denzel Aberdeen scored 12 points.. Overall, UF outscored Maryland 29-3 in bench points,

Florida shook off a bad first half, where it had 13 turnovers, and await the winner of Texas Tech and Arkansas in Thursday’s late game.

Florida advanced to its first Elite Eight since 2017 with an 87-71 West region win over the Terrapins. Florida put the game away with a 13-2 run that extended the lead to 74-56 with just over seven minutes to go. GATORS BEGINNING TO ROLL IN SAN FRAN 👀 #MarchMadness @GatorsMBK pic.twitter.com/v6a327Bst1