Long Shots Leave OSU A Bit Short

ATLANTA, April 2 -- At halftime of Monday night's national championship game, Ohio State hardly could have asked for more. It had made the same number of shots, 13, as Florida. The Buckeyes had outrebounded Florida's vaunted front court and held Joakim Noah and Al Horford to a combined 2-of-9 shooting.

But those figures could not make the Buckeyes feel encouraged against the defending champions, only helpless; they still trailed by 11.

The culprit was three-point shooting, and it would not change for the rest of a torturous night for the Buckeyes. Each time Ohio State threatened or found any advantage, the Gators responded with deadly three-point shooting in their 84-75 coronation.

Florida, for all the hype surrounding its versatile big men, beat the Buckeyes with three-pointers. The Gators nailed 10 of 18, including six of their first eight, while Ohio State struggled from long range. It made 4 of 23, including a debilitating 0 for 9 in the first 19 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Noah contributed almost nothing offensively, done in by foul trouble. Horford battered the post in the second half, but Florida used Noah and Horford as virtual decoys to find open threes for Corey Brewer and its sharp-shooting guards. The largest luxury about having Noah and Horford was not their skill, but the threat of their skill, which caused Ohio State to leave shooters open.

The Gators, by relying on three-pointers, also nullified the defensive greatness of Greg Oden. Oden finished with four blocks and a gaggle of monstrous dunks, but he could do nothing about Florida's shooters. On one possession, Florida reserve forward Chris Richard barreled toward the hoop, toward Oden. He powered straight at Oden, but Oden destroyed his shot attempt, sending Richard, one of the most brutish players in the country, flailing to the floor.

But the ball squirted loose, and Florida recovered it. The Gators swung it around, forcing Ohio State's defense to scramble, and eventually the ball found its way into the hands of Lee Humphrey, the NCAA tournament's all-time leader in three-pointers, who was standing alone in the corner. Florida had another three points and a 12-point lead with just under eight minutes left.

With just under five minutes, Ohio State had desperately whittled the lead down to six points by pounding the ball to Oden and on drives by Mike Conley. The Gators brought the ball back upcourt, worked into the paint and back out to the perimeter, where the ball eventually settled into point guard Taurean Green's hands. He hit a three-pointer, and when it swished through the net, a roaring Ohio State cheering section quieted, yielding to Florida fans, who sensed Green's shot had been a dagger.

With 5 minutes 36 seconds remaining in the first, Ohio State forward Ivan Harris nailed a three from the corner to cut Florida's lead to two. He flashed three fingers as he jogged downcourt, his thumb and index finger forming a circle.

The celebration turned into a harbinger for the Buckeyes. On the next possession, Humphrey drilled a three-pointer from the right wing. Brewer followed with another, his third of the half, after a defensive stop. Florida stopped Ohio State once more, then set up a three-pointer from Green, which ripped the net. In 1:33, Florida had stretched a two-point margin to 11. The closest the Buckeyes would come was six.

Their comeback had trouble gaining traction, though, as they misfired from beyond the arc. Open threes somehow found a way to rattle out, and Ohio State went inside to Oden, who could only provide two points. Florida, without fail, responded with three.