March 31, 2006

 

 

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---   Game Previews   ---   FINAL FOUR George Mason vs. Florida LSU vs. UCLA

---   Game Recaps   ---   NCAA FINAL Florida 73, UCLA 57 FINAL FOUR Florida 73, GMU 58 UCLA 59, LSU 45 ELITE EIGHT Florida 75, Villanova 62 G. Mason 86, UConn 84 (OT) LSU 70, Texas 60 (OT) UCLA 50, Memphis 45 SWEET SIXTEEN Villanova 60, BC 59 (OT) G. Mason 63, Wichita St.55 Florida 57, Georgetown 53 UConn 98, Wash. 92 (OT) UCLA 73, Gonzaga 71 Texas 74, West Virginia 71 Memphis 80, Bradley 64 LSU 62, Duke 54 SECOND ROUND WVU 67, NW State 54 UConn 87, Kentucky 83 Memphis 72, Bucknell 56 G. Mason 65, UNC 60 Bradley 72, Pitt 66 Georgetown 70, Ohio State 52 Texas 75, N.C. State 54 Villanova 82, Arizona 78 Duke 74, GW 61 Florida 82, UWM 60 Wichita St. 80, Tenn 73 BC 69, Montana 56 Washington 67, Illinois 64 LSU 58, Texas A&M 57 Gonzaga 90, Indiana 80 UCLA 62, Alabama 59 FIRST ROUND Bucknell 59, Arkansas 54 Northwestern St. 64, Iowa 63 OSU 70, Davidson 62 Arizona 94, Wisconsin 75 West Virginia 64, SIU 46 Georgetown 54, UNI 49 Villanova 58, Monmouth 45 UConn 72, Albany 59 NC State 58, Cal 52 Pitt 79, Kent State 64 G. Mason 75, MSU 65 UNC 69, Murray St. 65 Bradley 77, Kansas 73 Texas 60, Penn 52 Kentucky 69, UAB 64 Wichita St. 86, Seton Hall 66 UW-Milwaukee 82, Okla. 74 BC 88, Pacific 76 (2 OT) Florida 76, South Alabama 50 Tennessee 63, Winthrop 61 Montana 87, Nevada 79 Alabama 90, Marquette 85 UCLA 78, Belmont 44 Gonzaga 79, Xavier 75 LSU 80, Iona 64 GW 88, UNC-Wilm. 85 (OT) Illinois 78, Air Force 69 Texas A&M 66, Syracuse 58 Duke 70, Southern 34 Indiana 87, SDSU 83 Washington 75, Utah St. 61 OPENING ROUND Monmouth 71, Hampton 49

By Bryan Armen Graham

Assistant Editor, CSTV.com

	BRYAN GRAHAM Bryan is a basketball editor for CSTV.com and contributes on a regular weekly basis. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- 7/12: Summer Vacations On The Hardwood 7/5: Slipping Through The Cracks 6/29: NBA Draft Superlatives 6/28: Draft Depth > Drama 6/25: The Bust Ratio 6/21: Tigers, Heels Top Early-Summer Top 25 6/21: Stuckey Shooting For 1st Round 6/18: Big Baby: "I'm Glad I Stayed" 6/14: Should I Stay Or Go? 6/7: The Trigger-Happy 10 6/7: Afflalo Finally Focuses On Own Skills 6/7: Why Billy Should Have Gone 5/31: More Fans in the Seats 5/24: Porter's Comeback Tale Takes Tragic Turn 5/17: Piecing Together the Puzzle 5/10: A Look at Personality Types 5/3: One Month After Atlanta 4/26: Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now? 4/19: Six Super Sophs 4/12: Making The Grade 4/5: March Madness Superlatives 4/3: Never Too Early To Look Ahead 4/3: Final Four Fodder 4/3: Gators Score Rare Championship Double 3/30: YOu Final (Four) Exam 3/24: Matta's Vision Realized With Ohio State Victory 3/23: South Regional Notebook 3/22: Tigers Silencing Critics 3/22: Handicapping the Sweet 16 3/21: 35-Second Clock: The First Weekend 3/17: Painful End For Xavier's Cage 3/13: The March Madness List of Lists 3/12: Second-Round Wish List 3/7: At the Knee of John Chaney 3/5: Niagara Outruns Siena in MAAC Title Victory 3/2: The Month In Hoops: February 3/1: Conference Calls 2/25: Corralled Oden Still Makes Difference 2/22: Rolling the Dice for Final Four Tix 2/19: Experience, Balance Help Wounded Panthers 2/15: Bubble, Yum! 2/8: Drexel Guts Out Crucial CAA Win at Hofstra 2/8: The Sharper Image: A Look Ahead 2/2: The Month In Hoops: January 2/1: Halftime: From A to Z 1/30: Freshman Saves Day For Surging Manhattan 1/25: Snakebitten Gaels Just Can't Get A Break 1/18: Calhoun, Roberts Revisit Wiggins Situation 1/14: Calhoun's Work In Progress At The Garden 1/11: Tigers Earning Their Stripes One Win At A Time 1/4: Strange Cases 1/2: The Month in Hoops - December 12/28: Mejia Powers "New Drexel 12/28: Seven Weeks Down: Taking Stock 12/21: Paulus Spirits Duke To Garden Victory Over Zags 12/21: Secret Santa: Helping Cagers and Coaches in Need 12/14: Villanova's Arizin Was Rags-To-Riches Story 12/10: Throwback Guard Jordan Has Brady Bunch Clicking 12/9: Seton Hall Wakes Up In Time To Tame Nittany Lions 12/7: 31-0: Why Butler Can Run The Table 12/5: Welcome Freshmen 12/3: Irish Upset Tops Day At BB&T Classic 12/1: The Month In Hoops: November 11/30: Youngest Graves Making Biggest Splash 11/24: Three Is A Magic Number For Unlikely NIT Champ Butler 11/22: No Morrison, No Problem For Zags in Upset of UNC 11/22: Tennessee Joins Roll Of Butler Upset Victims 11/17: Terps Edge Spartans For 2K Sports Classic Title 11/16: Spartans Snatch Classic Upset 11/16: Jinxed Jayhwaks Need To Get It Together 11/15: Icy Shooting Dooms Rutgers in Season-Opening Loss to K-State 11/12: Maggie Dixon Remembered 11/10: Starting Over in Morgantown 11/9: Before Keydren, Houston Was Scoring King 11/7: Stuck On You 11/6: Gillispie Has Aggies Positioned For Success 10/31: Five Frosh Faces 10/26: Climbing Ev'ry Mountain 10/24: Transfers of Power 10/23: Circle The Date 10/13: 65 Things to Know, Part IV 10/12: Starting Over in Baltimore 10/12: 65 Things to Know, Part III 10/11: Winthrop Stud Aims to Get Back to NCAAs 10/11: 65 Things to Know, Part II 10/10: 65 Things to Know, Part I THE HARDWOOD FLASH 11/1: Scheduling With Big Boys A Laughing Matter In Valley 10/26: UConn Still The Team Thabeet 10/19: Demon Daze 10/12: Southern Comfort 9/28: Playing The Numbers Game 9/21: Favorite Sun Returns to Silicon Valley 9/14: THe Head of the Class 9/8: Gavitt Rolls Back Years At Enshrinement 9/7: For Davis, Long and Winding Road Ends in Spokane 9/1: Preps Shine In Elite 24 Hoops Classics 8/31: Studying Abroad 8/24: Still Busting After All Those Years 8/17: Rematches Made In Heaven 8/10: Few's Good Men 8/3: House of Boateng 7/27: Tangled In The Web 7/20: Not-So-Big Baby 7/13: Vegas, Baby, Vegas 7/6: July's Recruiting Heat 6/29: Don't Expand 6/22: Calipari and C-USA 6/15: Cat Calls For Tubby 6/8: Down With Diploma Mills 6/1: Pepperdine's New Coach 5/25: Dunphy's New Chapter 5/18: No Rest At Florida 5/11: Recruiting Update 5/4: The Colonial Carousel 4/27: Are 65 Teams Enough? 4/20: NC State's Search 4/13: A Longer Season? 4/7: The Wright Move? 3/31: Final Four Flash 3/22: The Second Weekend 3/15: The First Weekend 3/10: The Tournament Edition 3/3: Gearing Up for the Tourney 2/23: Coming Down the Stretch 2/16: Calhoun Questions Calls 2/9: No Luck for the Irish 2/2: Big 5 Down to the Wire OTHER 8/31: The Moore Things Change... 8/30: UNH Rides High-Powered Offense 8/30: Previewing the I-A Independents 8/20: Old, Young Blend At IU 8/17: Looking For Leaders In L.A. 7/10: Reebok ABCD Camp: Best In Show 7/9: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 4 Recap 7/8: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 3 Recap 7/8: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 3, Session 2 7/7: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 3, Session 1 7/7: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 2, Session 2 7/7: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 2, Session 1 7/6: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 1, Session 2 7/6: Reebok ABCD Camp: Day 1, Session 1 7/6: Reebok ABCD Camp: Holding the Mayo 7/5: Reebok ABCD Camp: Quick Hits 6/27: Top Five Sleepers 6/6: Miller's Crossing 5/4: Duke Wins Lance Thomas Sweepstakes 4/19: Sunny Future for Signee 3/13: Tribute to Chaney 3/7: Foye, Wright Get Big East Honors 2/27: A Class Above NCAA TOURNAMENT 4/4: Howland, Bruins Come Up Short 4/4: Final Four Fodder 4/3: Addition by Subtraction 4/2: Pitino's Bad Advice 4/1: Bruins Tame Tigers 4/1: Midnight Strikes For Mason 3/31: GMU Duo Survive to Reach Indy 3/31: Tigers and Bears, Oh My! 3/31: UF, Mason Crash NCAA Party 3/31: How They Got Here: LSU 3/31: How They Got Here: UCLA 3/31: How They Got Here: G. Mason 3/31: How They Got Here: Florida 3/27: Fairfax Feels Final Four Frenzy 3/26: Slipper Fits For George Mason 3/26: Let Us Praise Infamous Men 3/25: Patriots Look To Make History 3/24: UConn, Mason Move On 3/20: Subregional Wrap-Up 3/19: Ray, Foye Lift Villanova 3/19: Huskies Bend, Don't Break 3/18: Shakur Can Go Home Again 3/17: My Almost-Super Sweet 16 3/17: Cat Power: 'Zona, 'Nova Survive GRAHAM AT THE GAME 6/16: The U.S. Open: Collegiate Notebook 6/15: Do You Want Moore? 5/13: Notre Dame's Two-Sport Star Enjoys Balancing Act 4/22: Young Leads White in Jordan Classic 3/11: McNamara Spirits `Cuse to Title 3/10: Syracuse, Pittsburgh To Meet 3/9: Big East's New Top Seed 3/9: Old School Look In Big East 3/9: For Huskies, Now Or Never 3/8: Rutgers And Pitt Win Ugly 3/8: Two Close Contests in Big East 3/6: Iona Plucks Peacocks in MAAC

No Southeastern Conference team was forced to cope with as significant a turnover as did Florida (31-6). The departed players -- senior David Lee and juniors Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh -- were the team's top three scorers in 2004-05, accounting for 60 percent of the team's offensive output (45.7 out of 76.2 points per game).

This statistical fact led many pundits to pick the Gators to finish in the second in the SEC East.

But with Billy Donovan's stars moved on to the professional ranks, Florida became much more dangerous by relying on a balanced offensive approach. Since the team's early-season victories in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic -- a tournament title it parlayed into a 17-0 start -- the results have been nothing but impressive. Unlike recent Donovan teams, opponents just don't know where Florida's scoring is going to come from.

Sophomore sensation Joakim Noah paces the Gators from the middle with 14.2 points per game, one of five Florida players averaging double figures. Others include Taurean Green (13.6), Corey Brewer (12.5), Al Horford (11.4) and Lee Humphrey (10.6).

After their brilliant start, Florida fell into an extended funk -- losing six of 11 contests. But the Gators are unbeaten since, including their run to a second-straight SEC Tournament victory.

Highest High: The surgical efficiency with which Florida dispatched of a Villanova team that has spent most of the winter dominating the Big East was enough to land the Gators the status of "prohibitive favorites" entering the weekend. The Gators limited the hot-shooting Wildcats to 24.7 percent shooting from the field -- their worst shooting night of the season.

Lowest Low: It looked like things were starting to unravel for the Gators near the end of February. An 82-77 loss at Alabama on Feb. 26 was Florida's third straight setback -- and fourth in six games. The Gators would actually end up finishing the month with a losing record (3-4).

Biggest Shot: Noah's game-winning lay-up with 11 seconds remaining in the SEC championship game lifted the Gators to their second consecutive conference title. After depositing the go-ahead bucket, the New York native -- whose father is 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah -- rushed back down the court and blocked South Carolina's potential equalizer to secure the 49-47 victory.

X-Factor: With four sophomores in the starting lineup, the role of veteran leader falls to the junior Humphrey -- the team's best three-point shooter. When gut-check time arrives for the Gators, look for the Maryville, Tenn., native to take the big shot.

Why They Can Win It All: Not unlike George Mason, Florida seems to have an innate grasp of the team concept. Anyone can be the star on any given night -- an aspect that causes many sleepless nights for opposing coaches.

Deserving Mention: If Florida did meet Louisiana State in the first-ever national championship game between two SEC teams, the early line would likely favor the Gators. Florida scored a 71-62 victory over the Tigers in Gainesville on Feb. 11, and an 81-65 win to bounce LSU from the SEC Tournament on Mar. 11.