Gators Set a Double Standard
Florida Is First to Win Back-to-Back NCAA Titles in 15 Years: Florida 84, Ohio State 75

By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 3, 2007

ATLANTA, April 2 -- Florida's Joakim Noah wrapped one teammate after another in bearhugs late Monday night, much like he had at the end of a handful of important victories this season. Only this time, it marked an embrace for history, a snapshot for posterity.

Several seasons will almost certainly come and go before college basketball sees a second coming of these Florida Gators, an absurdly talented team that etched a permanent place in history with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State in Monday's national championship game at the Georgia Dome.

It was not merely that Florida became the first school since Duke in 1991-92 to win back-to-back national titles. The Gators accomplished the feat with the same starting lineup in an era in which elite players often look for the quickest path to the NBA.

Florida didn't just have only one top player delay a lucrative professional career; three Gators -- Noah, Corey Brewer and Al Horford -- returned for their junior seasons precisely for the moment that occurred Monday, which concluded with the team dancing amid an on-court confetti storm.

When Noah was asked whether he re alized the historical significance, he nodded again and again and said: "I feel like we stand for something. College students can look and see it's not all about money all the time. Winning championships is more important than money. It's not about money; it's about making history."

Noah and his teammates accomplished the goal about which they rarely spoke but were often asked. Since winning the title last season, Horford said he had been asked about repeating as champions exactly 86,344 times. Florida Coach Billy Donovan said, "What happened this year in college basketball is so good on so many different levels."

Among those in the Georgia Dome crowd was Ohio State football Coach Jim Tressel, who watched Florida deny Ohio State a national championship for the second time in three months. The Gators whipped Ohio State, 41-14, in this year's BCS national title game.

On Monday, Ohio State (35-4) sliced a 14-point deficit to six with about five minutes remaining. The Gators quickly answered with a three-pointer by point guard Taurean Green. Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said at that moment the feeling was, "Oh, my God, what do we do next?"

Defensively, Florida's lineup of long defenders, particularly Brewer and Noah, helped harass the Buckeyes on the perimeter and hold them to 4-of-23 three-point shooting.

Offensively, Florida (35-5) demonstrated its range of scoring options, from three-point shooters to all-American front-court players to unheralded reserves who made key contributions. Horford finished with 18 points but was assisted by a large cast, including Brewer, who was named the Final Four's most outstanding player.

"They've got really everything," Matta said.

Ohio State's 22-game winning streak entering the game was impressive. Florida's 17-game winning streak in the postseason entering the game was more impressive and showed just how much it has owned the months of March and April the past two years.

"Any time there was an obstacle," Noah said, "we cut down nets."

Duke, the last team to repeat, beat Michigan's "Fab Five" for the national championship, while Florida beat Ohio State's "Thad Five," a collection of high-profile recruits led by 7-footer Greg Oden. A unique team for the ages overcame the equally rare center for the ages.

Unlike much of the tournament, Oden avoided foul trouble. Oden, who had 25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and several resounding dunks, exhibited the skills that could make him the first or second pick in the NBA draft whenever he chooses to turn pro.

Noah, who spent a large amount of the second half on the bench with foul trouble, said: "I've never been so nervous in my life. Oden was scoring basket after basket."

In the first half, Florida held an 11-point lead even though both teams made 10 of their first 22 field goal attempts. The difference was three-point shooting. Florida made 6 of its first 8 attempts; Ohio State made just 2 of its first 12 shots from beyond the arc.

Florida began the game by scoring almost all of its points around the basket, mostly because of driving layups by Green and Walter Hodge. When Brewer, Green and Lee Humphrey started making long-range shots, Ohio State failed to keep pace.

In 14 months, the Gators went from a young team with largely unheralded players to one of the significant teams of the modern era. And their 41-year-old coach went from being a celebrated recruiter to college basketball's most sought-after man.

After the game, the entire Florida team sat on the makeshift stage on the floor to watch "One Shining Moment." Brewer and Noah had their arms around each other. Moments later, the group of juniors took the stage alone, perhaps for the last time, to dance and blow kisses to the crowd.

"This is the most satisfying feeling in my whole life," said Noah, who made 1 of 3 shots. "It's also humbling because we worked so hard."

Noah, Brewer and Horford will soon decide whether to return for their senior seasons. A reporter asked Noah about winning another title.

"You guys aren't going to get me to talk about a three-peat," Noah said. "I'm going to live in the moment like my coach taught me."