Mission accomplished
ATLANTA – The Florida Gators took a chomp out of NCAA history with the repeat they simply had to have.
Now they want more. They want to be called one of the best teams of all time.
The Gators made their case Monday night with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State to capture the second straight national championship that was their only reasonable goal this season.
They became the first team to go back-to-back since 1992 and the first ever to repeat with the same starting five.
“I think this team should go down as one of the best teams in college basketball history,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Not as the most talented, and not on style points – but because they encompassed what the word ‘team’ means.”
Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Taurean Green had 16 points, and Greg Oden’s 25 points and 12 rebounds weren’t enough for Ohio State (35-4) to stop the Gators (35-5) from completing the quest they set upon when all the starters delayed their NBA plans for a try at another title.
“We all love each other and we all love playing with each other,” Green said. “People made huge sacrifices. They all came back for this and wouldn’t have been satisfied without it.”
While the debate about the best teams of all time can truly begin, there is no denying Florida’s overall athletic program is the best in the nation.
This win completes a 2007 championship-game sweep of the Buckeyes in the two biggest college sports – men’s basketball and football. Florida, a 41-14 winner in the football title game in January, remains the only program in history to hold both titles at the same time.
Donovan added another gold star to his resume, which figures to command more than his current $1.7 million next season, whether he returns to Florida or bolts for a possible job offer at Kentucky.
“Right here at the University of Florida, I’m going to enjoy this moment right now,” Donovan said. “All that stuff will be addressed, but now isn’t the time to address it.”
His job this season was hardly just a matter of rolling the ball out there. He had to keep everyone motivated and focused – at first when things seemed too easy, then later when the Gators lost three of four toward the end of the regular season.
They finished with a 10-game winning streak and haven’t lost a postseason game in 18 tries.
But all teams, no matter how good, need something to fire them up. Sunday, the Gators found it when Ohio State’s Ron Lewis labeled Florida only “good,” not “great” or “excellent.”
“Great teams never lose to good teams,” Florida forward Chris Richard said. “It’s special and it speaks for itself. We’re now part of history.”
All season – including in an 86-60 victory over Ohio State in December – the Gators have morphed into whatever kind of team they needed to be to win, and this one was no different.
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.
“They had four bodies running in at me,” Oden said. “Chris Richard, I swear he plays on the football team.”
Oden had to work for his points and 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 the first 39-plus minutes of the game, and finished 2 of 8. Mike Conley Jr. had with 20 points for Ohio State, but many came late with the Buckeyes 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. The Gators went 10 of 18 from 3-point range.
And 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 it back out to Lee Humphrey for a 3.
“The difference was they made some incredible plays, and we took away what we wanted to take away,” OSU coach Thad Matta said. “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.”
Horford had a monster game, bodying up with the 7-foot Oden on defense and more than holding his own on offense.
Clearly, another year in college has helped this 6-10 junior, who now looks every bit like a lottery pick.
Joakim 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 had eight points and three rebounds, 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.
Florida 84, Ohio State 75
Ohio State (35-4)—Harris 2-8 1-2 7, Oden 10-15 5-8 25, Conley Jr. 7-13 5-6 20, Lewis 6-13 0-1 12, Butler 1-7 0-0 3, Lighty 2-3 0-0 4, Cook 1-2 0-0 2, Terwilliger 1-1 0-0 2, Hunter 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 11-17 75.
Florida (35-5)—Brewer 4-12 2-2 13, Noah 1-3 6-6 8, Horford 6-15 6-8 18, Green 4-6 5-5 16, Humphrey 5-8 0-0 14, Hodge 2-2 1-1 5, Richard 3-5 2-3 8, Speights 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 22-25 84.
Halftime—Florida 40-29. 3-Point Goals—Ohio St. 4-23 (Harris 2-8, Conley Jr. 1-3, Butler 1-6, Lighty 0-1, Cook 0-1, Lewis 0-4), Florida 10-18 (Humphrey 4-7, Green 3-3, Brewer 3-8). Fouled Out—Richard. Rebounds—Ohio St. 28 (Oden 12), Florida 38 (Horford 12). Assists—Ohio St. 10 (Conley Jr. 6), Florida 11 (Green 6). Total Fouls—Ohio St. 20, Florida 19. A—51,458.