ATLANTA “”mdash; Even college basketball’s most intimidating post presence in 20 years, Greg Oden, couldn’t stop Florida from its goal on Monday night.
The Gators’ four juniors, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green, passed up the riches of the NBA to become the first team in over a decade to win consecutive national titles, and their goal was accomplished on Monday as they defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 in the national championship at the Georgia Dome.
“We’re in the books now. People can say whatever they want about this team,” center Noah said. “But there is no lying in winning. There is no lying in championships.”
“Together, we’re unbeatable. The reason why we came back was to win a national championship,” point guard Green said. “If we didn’t win the championship, it would have been a disappointment.”
In a repeat of the BCS title game in January, the Gators steamrolled the Buckeyes from the start, and never looked back.
The Gators made seven of their first 11 3-pointers, and played nearly flawlessly in becoming the first team since Duke in 1991 and 1992 to repeat as national champions.
The Gators led 40-29 at half-time and never let their lead slip under six points in the second half.
“Our guards hit some big shots at big moments; it was just crazy,” Noah said. “Just a team effort. Everybody just came in there and contributed. Our team is special.”
The Gators were unable to accomplish their goal of nullifying Oden, who had 25 points and 11 rebounds, but it didn’t matter as the Gators had four players in double figures.
Horford led the Gators with 18 points, while Green and Lee Humphrey had 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Just as it has been all season, however, it didn’t matter who the Gators’ leading scorer was on Monday.
“That’s our team. We play together. When someone is not playing well, someone else will step up,” Green said. “That is what is so special. We have five to seven players that can step up at any time.”
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, who used a string of miracle finishes to get to Monday’s championship game, didn’t have any magic left against the Gators as they struggled immensely from behind the 3-point line, shooting 4-23 and looking frazzled toward the end against a veteran Florida group.
For a team that will most likely lose Oden to the NBA draft this June, it was a disappointing way to end what has been a dream season for the Buckeyes.
Just ask Oden’s high school teammate and fellow freshman, Mike Conley Jr., what it meant for the Buckeyes to return to the Final Four for the first time since 1962 and come up one game short.
“It’s been a while since we lost a postseason game like this,” Conley said. “To make it this far, you know, it was a great run with the seniors and the guys.”
The Gators on Monday night celebrated in their typical outlandish fashion, with Noah leading the Gator chomp from the Florida fan section, and Brewer jumping up and down on the scoring table with confetti streaming down from the rafters.
The celebration was just an indication of the fun Florida has playing the game, and the unity it has developed as a team since returning all of its starters from a year ago.
“This is all about me and the boys. We’re a team, and we’re going to enjoy this tonight,” Noah said. “People can say whatever they want about us as individual players, but the only thing they can say about our team is that we went back-to-back.”
The question that now remains is whether the juniors for Florida will return for a chance at a third straight national title.
Considering how unlikely it was for a group of players to all return for their chance to repeat the first time, however, the Gators deflected that question, and instead took the time to reflect on what they accomplished this season.
“From the beginning we knew we had the opportunity to do something special,” Humphrey said. “We knew no one could ever take away the first championship; we also knew we had a chance at getting another one.”
And with that, the Gators are now officially one of the dynasties of college basketball.
“I think this team should go down as one of the best teams in college basketball history,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “Not as the most talented, but because they encompassed what the word “˜team’ means.
“For them to do this, back-to-back, in this day and age, I think they deserve a lot of credit and recognition for that.”