The Jimmer Fredette Experience has come to an end. Or at least the end of a chapter.
Jimmer went off for 32 points in the Sweet Sixteen matchup against the Gators, but it took him 31 shots to get there. Aside from a few Gus Johnson happy pants deep three’s, Jimmer was miserable from beyond the arc, ending the evening 3-17 behind the line.
While neither team shot particularly well, a few Florida players came out with some terrific nights. Namely, Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons. Tyus, the underperforming senior from St. Louis, gave the Brandon Davies-less Cougars fits inside, scoring 19 points on just 9 shots and gobbling up 14 rebounds. He came up with a few monster flushes late in the game that led to Florida outscoring BYU by 9 in the extra frame. Parsons was silky as usual, filling up the box score and making some big shots on his way to 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. He got handled on the boards a bit by freshman Kyle Collinsworth, but from the 3-spot, there aren’t many more well-rounded players in the nation.
Erving Walker deserves a mention for what could have been one of the biggest offensive rebounds of the postseason. He grabbed a floor board after not being boxed out, allowing Florida to hold for the last shot and not give Jimmer a chance to give Gus Johnson a heart attack for the win.
With BYU out, VCU and Richmond are the only non-Big 6 schools remaining. There’s a ton of future ahead of Jimmer Fredette, but this is the last we’ll see of him donning a BYU uniform. He’s had a terrific career but ran into a better team tonight. Florida will face the winner of Butler and Wisconsin, which is scheduled to tip off momentarily.