A look at UCLA versus Florida
Sun, Mar 25, 2007
By Associated Press
UCLA vs. Florida
GETTING THERE
These teams meet one game earlier than they did in last season's national championship game, which Florida won 73-57.
The last time the storied UCLA program went to a Final Four for a second straight year was in 1976, the last of a run of 10 straight appearances that included seven consecutive titles. This team that ran through the West Regional wasn't an offensive juggernaut but the Bruins maintained what has become their trademark stellar defense throughout.
Florida is two wins from becoming the first repeat national champion since Duke in 1992. The Gators have been the team to watch since all five starters announced they would return to defend their title. They started slowly in the first three tournament games but always had more than enough to advance. The last reigning champion to get back to the Final Four was Michigan State in 2001.
THE ROAD
UCLA beat No. 15 Weber State 70-42; No. 7 Indiana 54-49; No. 3 Pittsburgh 64-55; No. 1 Kansas 68-55.
Florida beat No. 16 Jackson State 112-69; No. 9 Purdue 74-67; No. 5 Butler 65-57; No. 3 Oregon 85-77.
THE COACHES
Ben Howland has two Final Four appearances in his four seasons at UCLA. The Bruins reached No. 1 this season for the first time since 1995, the year of their last national championship.
Billy Donovan has taken Florida to three Final Fours, winning it all last season just two months before his 41st birthday. A guard on Providence's 1987 Final Four team, he is one of six men to have played and coached in a Final Four.
OFFENSE
With Arron Afflalo averaging 16.7 to lead three double-figure scorers, UCLA was solid on offense all season at 72 points per game until the tournament. With Afflalo struggling from the field until the regional final, the Bruins managed to reach 70 points just once in the four games. They did break out against Kansas, though, ending the Jayhawks' run of holding opponents to under 50 percent shooting by going 24-for-45.
Florida is 10th in the nation in scoring, averaging 80.1 points per game and the Gators do it with a balanced attack in terms of production and style. Four starters average between 13.4 and 12.1 points and the fifth is at 9.8. The inside game with Joakim Noah and Al Horford accounts for the gaudy 52.8 team field goal percentage and Lee Humphrey's 105 3-pointers - seven against Oregon - leads an outside attack that shoots 41 percent from beyond the arc.
DEFENSE
The Bruins were one of 18 teams to hold opponents to under 60 points per game this season and they improved on that in the tournament, keeping all four teams to 55 or less. Kansas' 41 percent from the field was the best any opponent managed in that span and UCLA offset that with 15 steals against the Jayhawks. Darren Collison's quickness at the point is the key to turning over opponents.
The Gators allow opponents an average of 61.8 points per game but their defense has been more than solid in the postseason with nobody getting more than 72 points in the run through the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments until Oregon in the regional final. Horford and Noah accounted for 136 of Florida's 185 blocked shots and both are very active in the middle.
REBOUNDING
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (7.5) and Lorenzo Mata (5.6) key the frontline that only outrebounds opponents by three a game and almost half of Mbah a Moute's rebounds come on the offensive end.
The Gators are fourth on the country with an 8.2 rebound margin and Horford (9.3) and Noah (8.4) are responsible for that. Both are solid offensive rebounders and Noah has an uncanny knack for keeping balls alive off the glass.
FREE THROWS
The Bruins' 67 percent from the line is deceptive because the people who handle the ball the most are all very good from the line, with Afflalo and Collison both at 80 percent and Josh Shipp at 75. Late in close games the ball can't go to Mbah a Moute (56 percent) or Mata (38 percent).
The Gators shoot 69 percent from the line with point guard Taurean Green leading the way at 86 percent and that's why it's tough to get the ball out of his hands late in the game. Noah and Horford have taken the most free throws and both shoot 65 percent.
INTANGIBLES
Jordan Farmar's decision to leave early for the NBA after last year's title game loss didn't hurt as much as expected with the emergence of Collison. How good the defense is was shown by the ability to overcome the offensive woes in the tournament run. Afflalo gets a chance to make up for a poor offensive performance in last year's Final Four when he scored a total of 19 points in the two games.
Nothing mattered this season for Florida until it was time to close in on the chance to repeat. A late season slump where the Gators lost three of four games has been erased by a strong postseason run. Experience is often considered a major factor in NCAA success and the five Florida starters have won 10 straight games in the tournament and have cut down the nets.