Florida 68, Marquette 58: Freshman Bradley Beal scored 21 points, and the Gators turned in a superb defensive effort against the Golden Eagles to advance to the West Regional final.

Florida (26-10), which led by as many as 14 points in the second half, will attempt to become the first No. 7 seed ever to advance to the Final Four in a matchup against fourth-seeded Louisville on Saturday.

Third-seeded Marquette (27-8) shot just 31 percent in the loss.

Florida closed the first half on 9-0 run to take a 36-30 lead into the break, and then the Gators opened up a 48-34 advantage on Erik Murphy’s driving layup with 13:24 to go.

The Golden Eagles, who overcame numerous second-half deficits during the regular season, tried to claw their way back but could never hit a clutch shot at the right moment.

Leading scorers Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder combined for 29 points but shot just 10 for 30 from the field. Marquette cut the lead to 58-52 on Todd Mayo’s 3-pointer with 3:20 left, but Florida's Erving Walker responded with another 3 that made it 61-52.

The Golden Eagles missed eight straight 3-pointers at one point in the second half and finished 6-of-21 from long range.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida moved to 32-12 all-time in the NCAA tournament, including a 28-9 mark under coach Billy Donovan.… The Gators’ three tournament victories have come by a total of 70 points … Walker and Kenny Boynton added 11 points apiece for Florida.