Gators Go Back For Seconds

Florida Repeats As NCAA Basketball Champions With 84-75 Win Over Ohio State

(AP)  It was hardly just a matter of Donovan rolling the ball out there. All season — including in the 86-60 victory over Ohio State in December — the Gators have morphed into whatever kind of team they needed to be to win.

In this one, stopping Oden figured to be the key, but really it was more complex than that. The 7-foot freshman, who may be one-year-and-done with the NBA beckoning, stayed out of foul trouble and played 38 minutes — just what the Buckeyes figured they needed to have a chance.

Florida's focus, however, was more on stopping the rest of the team. Oden drew mostly single coverage when the ball went into the post. Donovan played a lot of zone and mixed his big men in and out, adding 6-10 Marreese Speights to the mix to give him five more fouls to play with.

That strategy worked well enough — well enough to win at least. Ohio State couldn't take advantage of any other matchups, especially on the perimeter. Ivan Harris was the only Buckeye to make a 3-pointer over the first 39-plus minutes of the game, and he finished 2-for-8. Mike Conley Jr. finished with 20 points for Ohio State, but lots of them came late after the Buckeyes were playing big-time catch-up.

Meanwhile, one thing Florida has always been able to do is shoot the ball — a nation-leading 53 percent this year — and Monday night was no exception as the Gators went 10-for-18 from 3-point range. Florida also had quicker hands.

How frustrating it must have been for Ohio State to watch Oden block shot after shot, only to see the Gators grab the rebound and feed back out to Lee Humphrey for a 3.

That happened twice in the second half, both times when an Oden block looked like it might spark Ohio State, which kept the game in reach but couldn't get the deficit below six.

"The difference was they made some incredible plays, and we took away what we wanted to take away," OSU coach Thad Matta said. "They were shooting runners in. When you're playing a great team like Florida and those guys step up and make the plays, there's not a lot you can do. They made some incredible plays on us."

Green finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range and Humphrey was his usual killer self, going 4-for-7 and scoring 14 points. Florida's versatility showed most in the first half when those two and Brewer (13 points) hit back-to-back-to-back 3s to push Florida's lead to double digits.

Horford had a monster game, bodying up with the 7-foot Oden on defense and more than holding his own on the other end. He spotted up and made three 15-plus-foot jumpers and twisted and turned for a few more hoops. Clearly, another year in college has helped this 6-10 junior, who now looks every bit like a lottery pick.

Noah, on the other hand, probably sacrificed the most. He might have been the top pick had he left last season, but the presence of Oden and Kevin Durant, to say nothing of Noah's dwindling stats, have pushed him down.

He finished with eight points and three rebounds in this one, but big individual numbers were never the point with the Gators this year.

They came back for the championship and anything less would have felt hollow.

But there will be no regrets. Instead, how about a nice little debate about the best programs of all time?

Repeats will almost certainly go down as a rarity in this age of one-year-and-done college players, and nobody in the last 15 years

even before the NBA money started skyrocketing — could do it anyway.

As the trophy presentation began, there was a long, loud chant of "It's great ... to be ... a Florida Gator." But one, a bit less voracious, could also be heard: "One more year. One more year. One more year," a few Florida fans yelled from the stands.

Nothing wrong with dreaming, right?

In a way, though, Florida is already living that dream.

[mitywhity]

From a rival Bulldog to the Gators - Touche!!! They have the championships to back up the hype. Congratulations!

[racam_us]

Congratulations to a bunch of athletes with a dream. Dreams should always come before greed. This team has my vote for greatest team of all time.

[gramto7]

Good Going, Gators! As Grandma of a Shands baby, I am very proud of you!!

[missut2]

Well done, Gators! Tomorrow the Lady Vols will make it an SEC sweep. Congratulations to the Gators from a Volunteer.

[noaanhc]

Congratulations Florida,well done!!!!