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Posted: Tuesday April 4, 2006 2:30AM; Updated: Tuesday April 4, 2006 11:12AM
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NCAA Championship Grades
Florida 73, UCLA 57
UCLA Bruins
Jordan Farmar, G
34 min., 18 points (8-21 FG, 1-2 FT, 1-8 3PT), 4 assists, 2 steals
He's the only one who really came to play tonight. If it weren't for him, they would have lost by 30. He did go 1 for 8 from behind the arc, though.
B
Aaron Afflalo, G
32 min., 10 points (3-10 FG, 2-2 FT, 2-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers
He had the misfortune to be guarded by Corey Brewer. He defended well, but he was not nearly aggressive enough. His head was totally out of this game.
F
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F
32 min., 6 points (3-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 0-2 3PT), 10 rebounds, 4 fouls
I actually felt like he was pretty active. He was just overmatched by Joakim Noah. He was active on the boards -- you can't really expect him to score.
C-
Cedric Bozeman, F
25 min., 9 points (2-3 FG, 5-6 FT, 0-0 3PT), 3 assists, 2 turnovers
Didn't even notice him. He really didn't bring much to the table.
D
Ryan Hollins, C
26 min., 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-2 FT, 0-0 3PT), 10 rebounds
Same thing as Mbah a Moute. He's limited. I think the big thing was that he only shot two free throws. Noah just got into everybody's head and they decided they couldn't beat him, so they stopped taking it at him.
C
The Bench
51 min., 4 points, 11 rebounds, 4 turnovers
Lorenzo Mata was out of it, Darren Collison was out of control. Only four points from the bench, which had been a staple of UCLA's march this far. Not only did they get nothing from the bench, they were actually hurt when their reserves were in the game.
F-
Ben Howland, Coach
This grade is more of a lifetime achievement award. He deserves a lot of credit for bringing them this far. That's a bigger-picture grade. They'll be back. And not only will they be back, but they'll be better.
B
Florida Gators
Taurean Green, G
36 min., 2 points (1-9 FG, 0-1 FT, 0-7 3PT), 4 rebounds, 8 assists
He was really Florida's best player. Noah gets all the props, but Green was their best player Monday night because the big concern entering the game was that UCLA's D would create turnovers. Florida had just six turnovers, and he's the reason.
A+
Lee Humphrey, G
36 min., 15 points (4-8 FG, 3-3 FT, 4-8 3PT), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 0 turnovers
He didn't go nuts shooting, but he didn't turn it over.
B
Corey Brewer, F
37 min., 11 points (4-12 FG, 1-3 FT, 2-3 3PT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Arron Afflalo will go to sleep with images of Corey Brewer in his head. He locked Afflalo up.
A+
Al Horford, F
24 min., 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-5 FT, 0-0 3PT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists
I like his 4-for-5 free throw shooting, and he passed well with three assists. The bottom-line stat for Florida is 21 assists on 26 made field goals.
A
Joakim Noah, C
33 min., 16 points (7-9 FG, 2-2 FT, 0-0 3PT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 blocks
The only thing that may have been better than his shot-blocking was his passing. He ended up with only three assists, but I think he had a lot of hockey assists tonight -- the pass that led to the pass. His ball handling against UCLA's pressure was critical.
A+
The Bench
34 min., 15 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers
Someone's got to get a B besides Humphrey. They probably deserve an A. The bench contributed 34 minutes without a turnover.
B
Billy Donovan, Coach
In the end, he was the reason I picked Florida in this game. And the best thing that he did, as soon as the game was over, he didn't even bother celebrating until he went over to Ben Howland and the UCLA bench. He's the whole package and a class act and a quality individual. I'm genuinely happy for him.
A+
Gators-Bruins Box Score | Complete Tourney Coverage
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