:idea: George Mason finally ran out of miracles, but it was a great run. Florida has looked like the best in the tourney and they deserve to be where they are. Congrats to all Gators... ...........JO'Co
Thanks JO'Co, but I have to say that the speed of that UCLA team scares me. But I'm feeling might good right now. Gator Bill
Impressive win by UCLA, I think they will probably beat the Gators...and I'm only wrong once in awhile! Should be a good game. UCLA is deep, fast and extremely athletic and they have the depth on the front line to handle the Gator frontline. Can the Gators get out and run the floor like UCLA? Should be a good one. Terry
8) I've been hinting at this for some time now, but I shouldn't get too much credit, because I think BDR realized it before I did: UCLA is getting scary. After several wasted years under Lavin, who was probably less qualified to hold that UCLA job than most HS coaches that I know, the school hired a real coach who was perfect for their program. This guy Howland has cherry-picked all of the greatest players in SoCal and forced them to play defense first, with a disciplined pattern offense. That's basically what John Wooden did and you saw the results tonight. The Bruins now have some starters with less playing time than the substitutes. They are a legit 12 players deep, with 10 very good players having substantial playing time and 8 of the 10 are freshmen and sophomores. The defense never lets up and the fast break never slows down until their opponent is gasping for breath. Did you see Big Baby tonight? That's no NBA player. He was the most overrated "star" I've ever seen in a Final Four. The Bruins were racing past him like he was glued to the floor. Did you see him actually call a time-out, because he needed a breather? :shock: I've never seen that in all of the thousands of HS and college games that I've seen these last 50 years. If I had ever dared to call a time-out for a breather as a player in the 60's, I never would have seen the court again. My coach would have gone nuclear and I was amazed that Big Baby wasn't benched right then. He quit on his team in the first half and never regained his poise. Remember, the two guys who were taking turns guarding him, Mata and Hollins, were both seriously injured in practice two days ago, and Mata is a true freshman... It should be a great final game. I suspected that the Bruins would get this far when I saw the brackets and so did BDR. I didn't know much about the other side of the brackets, but Florida has certainly looked good every time I've seen them and they didn't disappoint tonight. My final prediction is: its a toss-up. These two young teams look pretty even to me. A lot will depend on UF's Noah playing well inside and the Gator defense being able to prevent Afflalo and Farmar from roaming wherever they please. I look for a close final... .................JO'Co
UCLA has had some ugly close wins and last night they handled LSU as UF has twice handled LSU this season. The win over the Tigers does not give UCLA any leg up on UF for that reason alone and I think UF will be a 3 point favorite. That said the Gators will need to keep their A game on the court as they have had in the tourney so far because UCLA should be tough.
MCG, I don't think anyone said the Gators should cash it in. However UCLA is a good deep team. Texas and LSU looked bad against them. You might say both those teams had a bad game. However the bad game just might have been because of the team they were playing! The way I see this game is that these two teams are very evenly matched. If one of them has a very good game then they might win handily. However if both play to their potential then it sould be a good game. I'm very proud of this Gator team and the fact that they do play as a team instead of being infected with the BIG I!! I'm going to miss the early part of the game but am looking forward to Monday night. Gator Bill
Gators Wary of UCLA's Daunting Defense By MARK LONG, AP Sports Writer 2:23 PM PDT, April 2, 2006 INDIANAPOLIS -- After spending several hours breaking down UCLA's defense Sunday, Florida's assistant coaches stepped out of the cramped video room for a short break. They were admittedly tired and maybe a little overwhelmed. The Gators haven't faced anyone like the Bruins, whose smothering, hounding, tempo-controlling defense could pose problems in the NCAA championship game Monday night. "They are one of the top, if not the best, defensive team in the country," Florida assistant Larry Shyatt said. "They have habitually the best half-court understanding I've see up to this point." The Bruins are athletic and deep -- much like Tennessee and South Carolina, teams that handed Florida four if its six losses this season. UCLA guards Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo harass ball-handlers the second they cross midcourt. Forwards Cedric Bozeman and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute torment opponents with their in-your-face tenacity. And center Ryan Hollins hangs around the lane in hopes of altering shots and helping out. Then there's wave after wave of bench players eager to enter the game with the same intensity, something coach Ben Howland demands. "You've got to establish your game plan and let them know that you're not going to get punked," Florida forward Corey Brewer said. The Bruins (32-6) have punked just about everyone lately. They ran their stifling defensive scheme to perfection in NCAA tournament wins over Memphis (regional final) and LSU (Final Four), holding both teams to 45 points. And they have allowed more than 60 points just once during their 11-game winning streak. "They're very physical, very well coached, very disciplined," Florida assistant Donnie Jones said. "They're going to force you to pass the basketball, go deep into the shot clock and you're going to have to make plays against their defense. "Every possession's going to be a physical battle." The Gators (32-6), though, might be up for the challenge. Joakim Noah and Al Horford have dominated down low, proving to be maybe the best frontcourt tandem in the country. Brewer has created consistent mismatches with his accurate shooting and slashing ability. Then there's Lee Humphrey and Taurean Green. The duo has combined to make 27 shots from 3-point range in five tournament games. Humphrey and Green could be the key to getting Florida its first national championship, needing to avoid turnovers, feed the ball inside and then make open shots. "We know they're going to pressure the ball," Green said. "We have to find a way to get in our offense and create." It might not be easy against the Bruins. Howland was twice chosen Weber State's most valuable defensive player and he has carried it into his coaching career. He made it clear from his first team meeting in 2003 that players were required to be active on both ends of the court. If not, they wouldn't play. They quickly bought into his aggressive, man-to-man style. "That's what has caused us to win games," Bruins guard Darren Collison said. "If the offense isn't working, we can turn it over and rely on defense." The Bruins contest every dribble, every pass, every shot. They try to disrupt opponents cutting across the court or setting picks. And they always play help defense. But even though they double-team post players, they don't expect to let Humphrey, Green and Brewer get the kind of looks they did in Saturday against George Mason. The trio went a combined 12-of-25 from behind the arc. "It's not going to be an up-and-down game where a lot of points are going to be scored," Jones said. "All the little things are going to matter." Added Shyatt: "You're not getting a lot easy; you might not get anything easy." And that's what makes the Gators wary. In the 2000 final, Florida was outplayed on both ends by a more aggressive and defensive-minded Michigan State team. Could it happen again? "Our biggest strength is we have a lot of guys that can score," Humphrey said. "In different games this year, different guys have stepped up. Our team is very unselfish and we generally have a high number of assists and pass the ball. "For us to be successful, we need to do that again."
UCLA was very impressive, they flat our ran Big Baby out of the game about halfway through the 1st half. Now I know Noah is a lot more athletic than Big Baby, but I have to wonder if Fla can keep up the pace that UCLA plays.