Ohio State Buckeyes (35-3) vs. Florida Gators (34-5) NCAA Championship Preview

Posted on | April 1, 2007 | No Comments

And so we’ve finally reached the long road to the NCAA Championship game. Every other college basketball team has seen their season end in defeat (not counting West Virginia, winners of the NIT – but that doesn’t really count, right?) and now it’s down to just two teams: Ohio State and Florida.

Was there really ever any doubt?

Ohio State was pretty much ranked at or near the top of the polls all year and Florida is the defending champs who have all their key players back this year. For one of these teams not to be here might have taken an upset. The upset never happened.

And so here we are with two powerhouse teams ready to duke it out to see who can be crowned the 2006-2007 NCAA basketball champions. Both of these teams know what they’re doing and they do it very well.

Florida will just keep coming at their opponents. They can beat you with so many different players it really gets frustrating for defenses. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Taurean Green all have the ability to step-up their games and lead the Gators to victory. And let’s not forget about Lee Humphrey either. He loves to hit long threes just when a defense starts packing it in to stop Florida’s big men.

But Ohio State won’t be intimidated. They may be too good or maybe just too young to know any better but they think they have a good shot at winning it all. They’re led by two freshmen: Greg Oden and Mike Conlet Jr. These two went to high school together. They’re great friends who are complete opposites on the court (Oden is huge and strong while Conley Jr. is small and quick), except for the fact that they’re both very good. The Buckeyes will also be led by Ron Lewis, Daequan Cook, and Jamar Butler.

What will be interesting is how the Ohio State youth and inexperience will react when Florida gets it going. Noah will be yelling when he makes a simple lay-up, Brewer will climb into somebody’s shorts (probably Cook or Lewis) and not let them free to score, and everyone else will start rolling. Will Ohio State crumble like UCLA has done now two years in a row or will they fight back and surprise the Gators? It’ll be fun to watch and see.

Let’s face it, all the basketball purists can’t stand what is about to happen tomorrow night in Atlanta. Two schools that are football powerhouses are going to meet for the basketball championship. But it’ll be fun to watch at least for a little while. And if Ohio State can keep their wits about them and play their brand of basketball, it might be enjoyable for forty minutes or even more.

Related posts:

1. Tennessee Vols (24-10) vs Ohio State Buckeyes (32-3)
2. Memphis Tigers (33-3) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (33-3)
3. Georgetown Hoyas (30-6) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (34-3) Preview
4. UCLA Bruins (30-5) vs. Florida Gators (33-5) Preview
5. #11 Florida State @ #12 Miami

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