Ready For It All

EACH OF THE FLORIDA GATORS HAD CUT A PIECE of net from one Metrodome basket and a few had taken lengths from the second. Before he went up the ladder under the second basket, 6' 11" sophomore center Joakim Noah turned to his teammates who were milling around in celebration after their upset of top-seed Villanova and said, "Anybody else want any of this? Because I'm greedy."

Getting no response, Noah climbed the ladder and quickly and efficiently cut away what was left of the net. He flung a few pieces toward the Florida band and grabbed the rest in his hand. It was not the gesture of a patient man. There would be no more waiting for a line of teammates, no more slow, careful snipping, no more standing on tradition.

But then Noah and his teammates had flouted protocol and expectations all year. Unranked nationally and picked to finish fifth in the SEC East in the preseason because of their youth and inexperience, they had run out to a 17-0 start, reached a No. 2 national ranking, won the SEC tournament and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs. Moreover, in a tournament that traditionally favors guards and experience, it was the play of the Gators' young frontcourt of Al Horford, Corey Brewer and especially Noah that had generated the biggest buzz out of Jacksonville after the Gators' decisive wins over South Alabama and Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Florida arrived for the Sweet 16 in Minneapolis brimming with confidence, composure and stories about the sources of their enviable chemistry.

The team's four sophomore starters recounted for the media how they had bonded in the summer of their freshman year playing pickup basketball--the four freshmen and sophomore Lee Humphrey versus a group of upperclassmen that included David Lee, Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh. No one else had any inkling they were putting together the starting lineup of an NCAA championship team. "Soon as we got there, we said, We can't wait until it's our time, it's our year," said Horford. "We always talked about how we were going to do big things."

They had already taken Florida to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. To get any further, they would need to get past Georgetown, the school Noah had dreamed of suiting up for when he was a kid attending John Thompson's basketball camps. Now coached by Thompson's son, John Thompson III, the No. 7-seeded Hoyas had upset No. 2 seed Ohio State in the second round with their patient half-court execution and suffocating defense. Their center, 7' 2" sophomore Roy Hibbert, was emerging as the latest model in a line of dominant Hoyas big men that included Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning.

A game that was billed as a clash of styles-- Georgetown's half-court game versus Florida's fast and furious transition--appeared to be going the Hoyas' way early. Midway through the first half, they had a 19-12 lead, thanks in part to Noah, who was whistled for a technical foul for screaming at Hibbert after dunking on him. In the end Noah, who had 15 points, 10 rebounds and tied his own Florida NCAA record with five blocks, got the better of Hibbert, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. But it took a team effort to win this game, an exhausting back-and forth battle that saw 13 lead changes and seven ties. Florida grabbed the lead for good with 27.5 seconds to go when Horford tipped an offensive rebound to Brewer, who hit a falling, fading midrange jumper as he was pulled down by Georgetown's Brandon Bowman. Brewer drew the foul and made the free throw to give the Gators a 55-53 lead. They were Brewer's only three points of the half (he had nine total), but they were critical. "When the guy grabbed my arm, I just threw it up," he said. "It was a prayer, and it went in."

Brewer almost negated his heroics moments later when he tripped and fell while guarding Georgetown's Darrel Owens at the top of the key. Seemingly surprised by the sudden disappearance of his defender, Owens missed a wide-open three with eight seconds to go. Horford grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Hibbert. Horford's two free throws sealed the win."

During the tournament all the games are kind of like this," said Florida coach Billy Donovan afterward. "We were very, very fortunate to win. It could have gone either way."

Beating Villanova would require more hard work, high energy and good luck. The Wildcats, one of the few senior-led teams left in the tournament, were essentially the same squad that had beaten Florida 76-65 in the second round of the 2005 tournament. Small, quick and physical, Villanova was known for its four-guard offense, though it hadn't used it much in its 60-59 overtime win over Boston College on Friday. Despite a poor shooting night--35% from the field and a season-low-tying 21.1% from the three-point line-- Villanova had overcome a 25-9 deficit by riding the back of senior guard Randy Foye, who had 21 of his 29 points in the second half and overtime.

The Gators knew they couldn't count on the Wildcats, who averaged almost nine threes a game, going cold from the arc again. To give his players some idea of what their opponents were capable of, assistant coach Anthony Grant put together a Villanova highlight tape and showed it to his team before the game. "If you are not on edge after [seeing] that tape, then there is going to be a problem, because it is scary when you see what those guys can do," Noah would say later.