European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 30 stars and stripes wednesday March 28 2007 defense a Central theme in this final four by Jim Oconnell the associated press a look at the final four matchup sat urday in Atlanta Urcla is Florida getting there these teams meet one game earlier than they did in last seasons National championship game which Florida won 7357 the last time the storied Urcla pro Gram went to a final four for a second straight year was in 1976 the last of a run of 10 straight appearances that included seven consecutive titles this team that ran through the West Region Al int an offensive juggernaut but the second seeded Bruins maintained what has become their trademark Stellar de sense throughout Florida the Overall no 1 seed is two victories from becoming the first re peat National Champion since Duke in 1992 the gators have been the team to watch since All five starters announced they would return to defend their title they started slowly in the first three tournament games but always had More than enough to Advance the last reigning Champion to get Back to the final tour was Michigan state in 2001 the Road Urcla beat no 15 Weber state 7042 no 7 Indiana 5449 no 3 Pittsburgh 6455 no 1 Kansas 6855 Florida beat no 16 Jackson state 11269 no 9 Purdue 7467 no 5 Butler 6557 no 3 Oregon 8577 the coaches Ben Howland has two final four appearances in four seasons at Urcla the Bruins reached no 1 this season for the first time since 1995 the year of their last National championship Billy Donovan has taken Florida to three final fours winning it All last sea son just two months before his 41st birthday a guard on providences 1987 final four team he is one of six men to have played and coached in a final four offence with Arron Afflalo averaging 167 to Lead three double figure scorers Urcla was solid on offence All season at 72 Points per game until the tournament with Afflalo struggling from the Field until the regional final the Bruins Man aged to reach 70 Points just once in the four games they did break out against Kansas though ending the Jay Hawks run of holding opponents to under 50 percent shooting by going 24for45 Florida is 10th in the nation in scoring averaging 801 Points per game and the gators do it with a balanced attack in terms of production and style four starters average Between 134 and 121 Points and the fifth is at 98 the inside game with Joakim Noah and Al Hor Ford accounts for the Gaudy 528 team Field goal percentage Lee Humphreys 105 three pointers seven against Oregon Lead an outside attack that shoots 41 percent from beyond the arc defense the Bruins were one of 18 teams to hold opponents to under 60 Points per game this season and they improved on that in the tournament keeping All four teams to 55 or less Kansas 41 percent from the Field was the Best any oppo nent managed in that Span and Urcla offset that with 15 steals against the Jay Hawks Darren collisions quickness at the Point is the key to turning Over opponents the gators allow opponents an aver age of 618 Points per game but their de Jeff Al Hor Ford celebrates after Florida advanced to the final four in Atlanta the gators will play Urcla in a re match of the last years title game Ohio state meets Georgetown in the other semifinal game on saturday sense has been More than solid in the postseason with nobody getting More than 72 Points in the run through the Southeastern conference and Mcaa tournaments until Oregon in the Region Al final Hor Ford and Noah accounted for 136 of Florida 185 blocked shots and both Are very Active in the Middle rebounding Luc Richard mbah a moute 75 and Lorenzo Mata 56 key the frontline that Only out rebounds opponents by three a game and almost half of mbah a motets rebounds come on the Offen Sive end the gators Are fourth in the country with an 82 rebound margin and Hor Ford 93 and Noah 84 Are responsible for that both Are solid offensive rebound ers and Noah has an uncanny Knack for keeping balls alive off the Glass free throws the Bruins 67 percent from the line is deceptive because the people who Han dle the Ball the most Are All very Good from the line with Afflalo and Colson both at 80 percent and Josh Shipp at 75 late in close games the Ball can t go to mbah a moute 56 percent or Mata 38 the gators shoot 69 percent from the line with Point guard Taurean Green leading the Way at 86 percent and that Why its Tough to get the Ball out of his hands late in the game Noah and Hor Ford have taken the most free throws and both shoot 65 percent intangibles Jordan Farmers decision to leave Early for the Aba after last years title game loss didst Hurt As much As expected with the emergence of Collison How Good the defense is was shown by the ability to overcome the offensive woes in the tournament run Afflalo gets a Chance to make up for a poor offensive performance in last years final four when he scored a combined 19 Points in the two games nothing mattered this season for Florida until it was time to close in on the Chance to repeat a lat season slump during which the gators lost three of four games has been erased by a Strong postseason run experience is often considered a major Factor in Mcaa Success and the five Florida Start ers have won 10 straight games in the tournament and have Cut Down the nets Ohio state is Georgetown getting there to seeded Ohio state dodged two up sets on the Way to the South regional title and its first final four since 1999 the buckeyes trailed Xavier by 11 Points in the second half of their Sec Ond round matchup before Ron Lewis hit a three at the regulation Buzzer and Michael Conley or took Over in Over time in the regional semifinal against Tennessee Ohio state overcame a 17point halftime deficit the second seeded hoyas didst appear to have a Chance at advancing to the final four trailing North Carolina by 11 Points with 12 minutes to play but they rallied to tie and then dominated the overtime Georgetown was last in a final four in 1985 which was the last of three in a fou year Span like those hoyas this team has a big Man in the Middle and a Thompson on the Bench the Road Ohio state beat no 16 Central Connecticut state 7857 no 9 Xavier 7871 of no 5 Tennessee 8584 no 2 Mem Phis 9276 Georgetown beat no 15 Belmont 8055 no 7 Boston College 6255 no 6 Vanderbilt 6665 no 1 North Carolina 9684 of the coaches Thad Matta is in his third season at Ohio state and led the buckeyes to their first no 1 ranking since 1962 his Previ Ous deepest run in the Mcaa tournament was in 2004 when Xavier lost to Duke in the regional final John Thompson Iii becomes the first son to follow his father to a final four this is Thompsons third season at the school his father led to three final fours including the 1984 National championship it offence the buckeyes average 742 Points per game and the top six players in the Rota Bon average Between 154 and 60 Points freshman Greg Oden is the High scorer and his strength around the Basket is obvious As he shoots 61 percent from the Field the perimeter game is solid with four players accounting for most of the three Point attempts although Lewis takes and seems to make the ones at crunch time the buckeyes had just eight turnovers in each of the last two games the hoyas Arent a High powered of sense but they Are efficient they shoot ust Over 50 percent from the Field led by 7foot2 Roy Hibbert at 67 percent and Forward Jeff Green at 51 percent Jonathan Wallace hit 68 three pointers and shot almost 50 percent from beyond the arc defense the defense is much better when the 7foot Oden is in the game and not saddled with foul trouble he has 100 of the teams 211 blocked shots and his intimidating presence makes opponents hurry when there near the Basket the perimeter defense is solid but opponents did average seven threes against the buckeyes this season the hoyas were fourth in the nation on defense allowing 568 Points per game and they not Only dont let you score they Are intimidating if you even try opponents shot a paltry 38 percent from the Field Hibbert had 89 of the hoyas 186 blocks and Green rejected an other 43 the guards Are Quick but they get even More Brazen with the big men behind them to cover any mistakes rebounding Oden leads the Way averaging 96 re Bounds per game and Othella Hunter his backup is solid at 46 per game the buckeyes out rebounded opponents by just Over three per game not an Overly impressive number and they were out rebounded in their fast two tournament games As expected Hibbert 68 and Green 61 led the rebounding which saw the hoyas grab just Over six More per game than their opponents More than half of Hibberts rebounds came on the Offen Sive end free throws Jamar Butler shoots 84 percent from the line and Lewis hits 76 percent Oden who shot free throws left handed for most of the season until switching Back to his natural right hand is a con Cern at 64 percent the buckeyes were 35for41 in the regional final against Memphis making 18 straight at one stretch the hoyas shoot 72 percent at the line led by wallaces impressive 87 per cent the front line All have More than solid numbers with Green at 79 percent freshman Dajuan Summers 76 percent and Hibbert 70 intangibles the buckeyes 21game winning Streak is the longest in the country and they Haven lost since falling to Wisconsin on Jan 9 a game they had a Chance to tie at the Buzzer keeping track of Odens fouls has become a huge con Cern in the tournament he fouled out at the end of regulation against Xavier and then play eco just 18 and 24 minutes against Tennessee and Memphis the hoyas Are a Power team inside that runs a Princeton like offence that comes up with a number of backdoor cuts every game that makes them Tough to prepare for and their ability to rally m games some thing they did m both the regional Semi final and final adds another touch to a team that started and finished the sea son ranked in the top 10 after falling out of the poll for nine weeks Mcaa Oden May be the bes known but Lewis has been key for Ohio St Eric Ohio state guard Ron Lewis Cele Brates winning South regional Mcaa from Back Page their bes known player May be freshman Center Greg Oden but the Star of their Mcaa tournament run has been senior guard Ron Lewis he has aver aged 247 Points Over the last three games and if it we rent for his Las minute three Pointer against Xavier Ohio state  have even made the Sweet 16 Lewis found himself in a curious situation at the Start of the season he was the buckeyes leading re turning scorer but with a highly touted recruiting class coming in there was a Chance his production would be Cut instead the Bowling Green Transfer has increased his average from 112 Points to 128 Ohio state has shot 520 percent from the floor in its last two games but despite Odens presence the buckeyes were out rebounded in their victories Over Tennessee and Memphis Georgetown the hoyas return to the final four for the first time since 1985 their elite eight Victory Over North Carolina showed that their big men can be vulnerable to foul trouble but that there a Force when there in the game Georgetown had 11 blocks against the tar heels after a rough first half the hoyas also proved How dominant their defense can be during a 15minute stretch spanning the second half and Over time North Carolina was lfor23 from the floor Roy Hibbert Georgetown 72 Junior Center is averaging 115 rebounds in the tournament in the two games in the regional Junior Forward Jeff Green scored 37 Points on 17for28 shooting and played nearly 82 minutes the hoyas five starters Green Hibbert Jonathan Wallace Jessie Sapp and Dajuan sum mers combined for 89 Points on 614 percent de Florida Lee Humphrey and the Iva w va1 waa we shooting in the overtime Victory Over the tar heels won the Midwest regional