Fantastic Final Four
The Florida Gators are looking to become the first team since the 1992 Duke Blue Devils to repeat as National Champions.
Gatorzone
Gatorzone
The Florida Gators are looking to become the first team since the 1992 Duke Blue Devils to repeat as National Champions.
published: March 28 2007 09:04 PM updated:: March 29 2007 07:10 PM

There is no George Mason or any other cinderella story this year in the Final Four, but what fans get are four  teams that should make for three competitive games this weekend to cap off the college basketball season.

Ohio State and Georgetown will get things started Saturday night in Atlanta in a game that features two seven-foot centers. 

Ohio State's freshman center Greg Oden will face one of his toughest match ups this season when he goes up against Georgetown center Roy Hibbert.

At 7'2'' Hibbert will have a rare size advantage over the seven-foot Oden.

College basketball is normally dominated by guard play but this game will be the exception as their are two centers that will soon be making millions of dollars in the NBA.

Georgetown is making its first Final Four appearence since 1985 when they were led by another great center Patrick Ewing.

Last year the Hoyas easily handled the Buckeyes in the second round of the tournament winning 70-52, but this Buckeye team is much different.

The Buckeyes are led by Oden and freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr. who are trying to do what Carmelo Anthony was able to do for Syracuse in 2003 when he led his team to the national championship.  

The Buckeyes last Final Four appearence was in 1999 (though it was later vacated due to NCAA violations) and their lone National Championship came in 1960.

Both teams have needed come from behind victories to advance this far into the tournament.

Georgetown erased an 11-point deficit in the second half against North Carolina and then scored 14 straight points in overtime to advance to Atlanta.

The Buckeyes have used two improbable come backs to stay alive.

In the second round they trailed Xavier by nine with less then three minutes to play but were able to force overtime on a last second 3-pointer from senior guard Ron Lewis.

Then in the Sweet 16 the Buckeyes faced a 17-point halftime deficit against Tennessee but where able to come back and win that game.

In the other National Semifinal game it is a rematch of last year's National Championship game.

Florida is trying to become the first team to repeat as champions since Duke accomplished the feat in 1991 and 1992.

The Gators return their five starters that made light work of the UCLA Bruins last year when the Gators defeated the Bruins 73-58.

In that game UCLA had no answer for Florida's post players. Florida's Joakim Noah and Al Horford combined for 30 points and 3-point specialist Lee Humphrey drained four 3-pointers on way to the school's first national title.

The Gators are making their third Final Four appereance since 2000.

Florida is familiar with both Georgetown and Ohio State.

The Gators easily disposed of the Buckeyes 86-60 in December, though that was when Oden was just returning.

The Gators defeated Georgetown 57-53 in the Sweet 16 last year which was the closest any team played the Gators in the 2006 tournament.

If the Gators and the Buckeyes both are victorious it will make for the same match up as the BCS National Championship game in college football where the Gators won 41-14.

The Bruins are making their record setting 17th Final Four appereance and will be looking to avenge their defeat to the Gatos last year. The Bruins haven't added to their 11 national titles since 1995.

This year's Bruins team still features All-American junior guard Arron Afflalo but they have had to replace their starting point guard and center. 

Sophomore point guard Darren Collinson has stepped into his new role without missing a beat but their post play has suffered offensively.

Center Lorenzo Mata will try to contain Florida's post players something the Bruins couldn't do last year.

A key player missing from the Bruins run to the title game last year was guard Josh Shipp.

He missed the entire season due to an injury and will have to compliment Afflalo if the Bruins want a different outcome from last year's game. Shipp is the Bruins third leading scorer with 13.1 points per game.

These Final Four match ups have the potential to make up for an otherwise lackluster tournament. Let's hope they don't fizzle out like the previous rounds of the tournament.   

 

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