Rematch

13 of the 17 players who played in last year's NCAA championship game for Florida and UCLA figure to play in Saturday's national semifinal game. Adrian Moss, a senior reserve on last year's title team, is the only Florida player to play in the game last year who isn't on this season's roster. Moss scored nine points and had six rebounds against the Bruins. For UCLA, three players who played against the Gators are gone - guard Jordan Farmar (18 points, four assists); starting center Ryan Hollins (10 points, 10 rebounds); and starting swingman Cedric Bozeman (nine points, three assists). Eighty-four of the 130 points scored in the title game were scored by players who will go up against each other again Saturday.

Rematch, too

With most of the attention on the Final Four reprise of Florida and UCLA, it's easy to overlook the fact Georgetown-Ohio State also is an NCAA Tournament rematch from last year. With the help of 20 points and 14 rebounds from center Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas beat the Buckeyes 70-52 in a second-round game in Dayton, Ohio. But Georgetown didn't have to deal with Greg Oden or Mike Conley Jr. in that one. Those two were getting set to attend their senior prom at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. The 2005-06 Hoyas went on to push Florida in the Sweet 16 before falling 57-53 in Minneapolis.

Young man's game

UCLA and Georgetown do not have a senior in their regular playing rotation. A total of 11 freshmen on the four teams play significant minutes, and four start.

In the beginning

• Ohio State got a jump on its Final Four brethren, playing its first basketball game in 1898. The Buckeyes thumped Columbus East High School 25-4.

• Georgetown was next to take up the game, beating Virginia 22-11 in 1906.

• Florida beat the Jacksonville YMCA team 30-14 in 1915.

• UCLA began its storied basketball history with a 46-38 win against Los Angeles Manual Arts High School in 1919.

Saturday's keys

• Ohio State (34-3) vs. Georgetown (30-6), 4:07 p.m. MDT, CBS 4

1 Pace. Georgetown will try to reduce the game's total possessions with its patient, back-cutting, three-point-happy offensive style. Ohio State, with quick guards Mike Conley Jr., Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler, wants to get the ball consistently into the open court seeking numbers advantages.

2 Answering the wake-up call. Ohio State had to come from far behind in two of its four tournament games. The way George- town plays defense, another slow start could be a killer for the Buckeyes.

3 Big-man battle. If the Buck- eyes' Greg Oden, right, or the Hoyas' Roy Hibbert gets consis- tently clean looks at the basket in the post, the other team is finished. Both, but especially Oden, are capable of going off in a big way.

• Florida (33-5) vs. UCLA (30-5), 6:47 p.m. MDT, CBS 4

1 Florida's balance. The Gators are at their best offensively when everyone is involved. And when three-point specialist Lee Humphrey stretches defenses to open things for Joakim Noah and Al Horford on the block - as he did in last year's title game against the Bruins - Florida virtually is unbeatable.

2 UCLA's pressure defense. Kansas, a team that plays fast but usually does a good job taking care of the ball, made 21 turnovers against the aggressive, ball-hawking Bruins. If Florida approaches that number, there could be an upset.

3 Point-guard play. Florida junior Taurean Green, who had a virtually flawless game against the Bruins last year, goes up against Darren Collison, right, UCLA's vastly improved sophomore. Keep track of the assists/ turnovers ratio of those two guys. The guy with the better one probably will be playing Monday night.

Bound for bucks

At least 10 players competing in Atlanta appear headed for NBA careers, and as young players emerge in future seasons, there could be more. The 10 who figure to make a living playing the game after their college careers.

• Arron Afflalo, G, 6-5 junior, UCLA The Bruins' most consistent player, Afflalo takes and makes big shots, seals off the perimeter on defense and understands the game. He's the answer to some NBA team's shooting-guard problem.

• Corey Brewer, F, 6-9 junior, Florida Nature gave Brewer a body built for basketball. He runs, shoots, drives, rebounds and defends. He would be The Man at most schools but takes a backseat to Joakim Noah and Al Horford.

• Darren Collison, G, 6-1 sophomore, UCLA No Jordan Farmar? No problem. Collison has been a terrific and dynamic presence for the Bruins all season since taking over the point guard job from Farmar, who left early for the NBA.

• Mike Conley Jr., G, Jr., 6-1 freshman, Ohio State The whole point-guard package, the tough and resilient Conley can shoot, drive, distribute, defend and lead. Still, he would be best served to play another college season.

• Jeff Green, F, 6-9 junior, Georgetown The Big East Conference player of the year has no weaknesses. He's tough inside on both ends of the floor, rebounds like a demon and might be the Final Four's best passer out of the post.

• Taurean Green, G, 6-0 junior, Florida Nobody thinks on the fly better than this guy. He's perfect to quarterback Florida's balanced attack. It's hard to imagine a player this polished and resourceful not making it in the NBA.

• Roy Hibbert, C, 7-2 junior, Georgetown Once dubbed "a big stiff" by Georgetown patriarch John Thompson Jr., Hibbert has gone from stiff to stylin' with the help of his coaches. Don't be surprised if Hibbert gives Ohio State's Greg Oden all he can handle.

• Al Horford, F/C, 6-10 junior, Florida At 245 pounds, Horford has the power to move people. He runs the floor, shuts down an opponent's bigs and rebounds like nobody's business. He'll be a double-double machine in the NBA.

• Joakim Noah, F/C, 6-11 junior, Florida Always feisty and always fired up, Noah plays as if his flowing locks are on fire. A big, athletic, emotional force, Noah easily was the best player on the floor in the 2006 national championship game.

• Greg Oden, C, 7-0 freshman, Ohio State So young, so driven, so gifted. Oden is a work in progress, but his body, skill set and mental makeup should make him a star. The top pick in the NBA draft is expected to be Oden or Kevin Durant of Texas.

Randy Holtz's picks

Semifinals

• Georgetown 67, Ohio State 66

• Florida 74, UCLA 68

Championship Florida 85, Georgetown 75

Final Four Most Outstanding Player: Al Horford, Florida

Big-time bloodlines

Apples don't fall far from trees, as evidenced by several luminaries set to appear on the Georgia Dome's big stage Saturday.

• Georgetown coach John Thompson III is the son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr., coach of the 1984 national champion Hoyas and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

• Patrick Ewing Jr., son of the former Georgetown and NBA player, is a key player off the Hoyas bench. He's a 6-foot-8 junior known, naturally, for his disruptive defense. And backup point guard Jeremiah Rivers is the son of former NBA guard and current Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

• Three Florida starters have strong athletic bloodlines. Joakim Noah is the son of former French tennis player Yannick Noah. Al Horford's father is former Miami and NBA big man Tito Horford. Gators point guard Taurean Green is the son of Sidney Green, who starred at Nevada-Las Vegas before a well-traveled NBA career.

• Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State's precocious freshman point guard, is the son and namesake of the 1992 Olympic triple-jump gold medalist.

Allergic to paint

You don't have to dissect Florida's statistics too carefully to figure out Lee Humphrey's specialty. In 38 games this season, the Gators senior sharpshooter has played 1,141 minutes, scored 384 points and taken 288 shots - 231 on three-pointers. How many times has Humphrey gone to the free-throw line? He's 9-of-12 for the season.

Back to Top