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2007 Florida Basketball: A Championship That Completes A Dynasty

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Florida was the king of college sports, having won the national title in both basketball and football in 2006 and the 2007 Florida basketball team was primed to keep the good times rolling in Gainesville.

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Billy Donovan’s team snuck up on people in 2006, but this time they were the consensus #1 basketball team in the land, with Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer leading a team that had all five starters back. The Gators were aiming to be the first team since Duke in 1991 and 1992 to go back-to-back, and only the second team since the end of the UCLA dynasty of John Wooden to pull off the feat.

An early loss to Kansas dropped Florida from the top spot on the polls, but they got a big 86-60 win at home over Ohio State, with its dynamic freshman duo of point guard Mike Conley and center Greg Oden. Their December 23 trip to Gainesville would have been hyped anyway and with the schools having just played for the football championship, it gained an added storyline. Florida’s thumping forced the Buckeyes to regroup.

The Gators themselves reclaimed the top spot in the polls in mid-January and held it for a month, as their record climbed to 23-2. But just as they had a year earlier, the Gators endured a skid during a basically soft schedule. They lost three of five, although they were able to recover and make it back to #3 in the polls by the end of the season and another victory in the SEC Tournament gave them a #1 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

With Kentucky still down, the SEC wasn’t a good basketball league, even though Florida now had the championship pedigree to get benefit of the doubt from anyone, in spite of their schedule. Five conference teams made the tournament, though Florida was the only one seeded higher than 5th.

The Gators hammered Jackson State to open the tournament, then beat back a challenge from feisty Purdue, 74-67 in the second round. Meanwhile, their league brethren did some surprise work, with both Vanderbilt and Tennessee pushing through to the regionals.

Florida would play for the Final Four in St. Louis, with Butler as the first opponent. The Bulldogs were a good team and head coach Todd Lickliter would cash in this job for one at Iowa—turns out Lickliter left a team that wasn’t far from consecutive trips to the NCAA final in 2010-11, for one that would fire him in short order.

On this night in St.Loo, Butler fought hard and only trailed by six at the half. But Florida could get to the foul line and a 23-10 scoring advantage there was decisive, as Green’s 17 point, with Noah and Horford combining for 16 rebounds led a 65-57 win.

Oregon was the Midwest’s #3 seed and the last opponent in the way of a Final Four. In a fast-paced game, Florida’s backcourt came up big, with the backcourt of Lee Humphrey and Tauren Green each producing 21 points, while Noah and Horford led the way in ensuring the team won the rebounding battle decisively. Florida led by just two at the half, but ultimately prevailed 85-77, with Green picking up regional MVP honors.

Atlanta is a hallowed site for SEC fans as the host of the conference’s football championship game in December. This year it was also the site of the Final Four and a familiar team was standing in Florida’s way. UCLA, the team Florida vanquished in the 2006 NCAA final was the opponent in the national semi-final. And if Florida should survive that test an even more familiar foe was potentially up next—Ohio State was the favorite in its semi-final against Georgetown.

Florida’s defense again overpowered UCLA as the Bruins could only shoot 39 percent. And unlike last year’s final game, this time the Gators also owned the glass. Horford was unstoppable on the glass with 17 rebounds, while Noah had 11. Brewer opened up the paint by bagging four treys and Florida turned a 29-23 halftime lead into a decisive win by ripping off 47 second-half points in a 76-66 final. Howland had gotten his team to two straight Final Fours, but the Gators kept standing in his way.

Ohio State took care of its business and for the second time in three months, covering two different sports, the world would watch a Florida-Ohio State battle for the national championship.

Oden would go on to be the first pick in the NBA draft by Portland and the problems with his knees have given that story a sad ending. But on a Monday in Atlanta, Oden showed Florida and the basketball world why everyone was so high on him, as he scored 25 points and had a haul of 24 rebounds, all the while effectively rubbing out Noah. Conley had 20 points and six assists.

If you could play two-on-two this might have been different, but Florida’s overall balance was too much. They hit ten three-pointers to Ohio State’s four, and they scored 22 points at the line to Ohio State’s 11. Horford’s 18/12 game partially negated Oden’s heroics, but Green scored 16 and dished six assists, while Brewer kicked in eight rebounds.

Florida led 40-29 at half, and while Ohio State never went away, there was also never a point as you watched that you thought they might win. Florida’s 84-75 win secured their place in history—a second straight title for the basketball program.

SEC Basketball Overview

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The college sports world made the complete segueway from football to basketball tonight, so perhaps it was appropriate that Alabama was in action and going down to defeat. The SEC began conference play and Missouri knocked off the Tide 84-68. Mizzou is one of three teams with a legitimate shot at the conference crown, as we lay out the landscape for the coming two months in SEC basketball.

THE BIG THREE

Missouri is the highest-ranked team in the polls right now at #10, and Florida is right behind at #11. And you can’t rule out Kentucky, even though a series of non-conference losses have left the Wildcats unranked.

Missouri: Just as they were last year, the Tigers are oriented to the backcourt, but unlike last year there’s a little more muscle up front to back up the guard play. Alex Oriakhi, the UConn transfer is averaging eight rebounds a game, and senior forward Laurence Bowers does it all—scores 17 a night, rebounds and hits better than 40 percent from behind the arc. Phil Pressey leads up the guards, scoring 14 and dishing seven assists per game with Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross and Keion Bell all combining to produce nearly thirty points a game, and all three go 6’4” or 6’5”, giving the Tigers a good size matchup in the backcourt.

The Tigers have only lost to Louisville and in overtime on the road at UCLA, while Stanford and Illinois are their best wins. There will be a lot more wins ahead of them, and if Oriakhi keeps hitting the boards, the rest of the team will stay consistent.

Florida: The Gators had great expectations coming into the year and there’s still every chance to fulfill them. Losses at Arizona and to Kansas State have slowed them down, though Florida has blown out Florida State, Marquette and Wisconsin. While none of those three are Top 16-caliber teams this season, Florida’s ability to blow them out at least establishes that Billy Donovan’s team is still several cuts above the standard NCAA bubble team.

It’s an experienced group, with Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario providing the senior leadership and scoring in the backcourt, with Erik Murphy and Patric Young up front. Young is also the team’s best three-point shooter. The problem Donovan has had is that forward Will Yeguete or two-guard Scottie Wilbekin haven’t really stepped up. My concern about Florida from the start has been their ability to improve beyond their core veterans and so far that’s not in evidence.

Kentucky: John Calipari has to like where he’s sitting. The media pressure is off and the Wildcats are unranked, even though their four losses are to Duke, Notre Dame, Baylor and Louisville, a quartet that would make a very credible Final Four. Kentucky’s also got a win over Maryland, another young team that’s on the rise.

UK is big across the front line, with Nerlens Noel, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kyle Wittjen all at least 6’10” and all of them rebound. So does freshman forward Alex Poythess, who averages 14 points/7 rebounds. Poythess and Noel join Archie Goodwin as the great Calipari freshmen this year. Goodwin leads up the backcourt with 16 points per game. Kentucky’s most recent loss was a competitive 80-77 defeat to Louisville and I think UK is coming on. My chits are on the ‘Cats to grab the SEC title before it’s over, with Missouri in second and Florida rolling in third. All three teams will be threats to go deep into the NCAA Tournament.

THE X-FACTOR TEAMS

All of these teams either have red flags on their non-conference resume, but intriguing talent, or have piled up a string of non-descript wins that leave us in wait-and-see mode.

Ole Miss: Murphy Holloway averages a 16/11 each night, but the 6’7” forward needs to be banned from the three-point shot where he’s hitting 14 percent. Reginald Buckner is another talented forward, and this duo is joined by explosive junior Marshall Henderson in the backcourt, who’s averaging 18 ppg. Jarvis Summers does a credible job running the floor. The Rebels are hindered by the lack of a center, although in today’s game that’s not a killer problem. More concerning are the losses to Middle Tennessee State and Indiana State, with no notable wins.

LSU: Another two-loss team, with the defeats to Boise State and Marquette, and Seton Hall being the best win. LSU is heavily guard-dependent, with sophomore Johnny O’Bryan being the only player taller than 6’5” that gets regular minutes. Fortunately, 6’5” Shavon Coleman can rebound and block shots, and a three-guard offense is well-balanced, with Charles Carmouche running the show and Andre Stringer the best three-point shooter. How far can they get relying exclusively on the guards?

Tennessee: They’ve got four losses, including ones to Georgetown and Oklahoma State, but the Vols have also beaten Wichita and Xavier in a non-conference run that will have them toughened for league play. Tennessee gets good backcourt play from Trae Golden and Jordan McRae, and they have a group of four forwards that go to the glass. If the Vols get a little frontcourt scoring, they’ll move up. Pencil them in as the most likely team in this group to break the ceiling and get to the next level.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks have two explosive scorers in sophomore guard B.J. Young and forward Marshawn Powell. The post players are respectable in Hunter Mickelson and Coty Clarke, though both need to be a little tougher on the boards if the Hogs are going to move up. While there are no notable wins, none of the four losses—Arizona State, Wisconsin, Syracuse and Michigan are anything to be ashamed of.

Auburn: I’m pushing my luck putting them this high, since the Tigers are 6-7. But they have a great scorer in Frankie Sullivan at the guard spot, and he’s ably supported by running mate Chris Denson. 6’10” Rob Chubb does a good job rebounding. Most important, the Tigers are improving. In the last two games, they took Illinois to overtime on the road and beat Florida State. Look for Auburn to at least be midlevel in SEC play.

THE DOUBLE X-FACTOR TEAMS

Another group of teams with similar resumes to the ones above, but just enough problems to warrant dropping them a tier.

South Carolina: They are similar to LSU with the heavy reliance on the guards, only the Gamecocks are even smaller, with 6’5” Lakeem Jackson being the tallest player to get regular time. And the non-conference record, though 10-3, includes a loss to Elon and an overtime win over UW-Milwaukee, who is terrible this year.

Texas A&M: Another 10-3 team and the Aggies lost to Southern. You have to like Elston Turner and his 16 ppg, and senior forward Ray Turner who averages a 12/7. But unless Johnny Football can suit it up and play basketball, the NIT is the best hope this team has.

Alabama: The loss to Missouri tonight was a harbinger of things to come. The Tide aren’t strong enough up front, and they rely heavily on Trevor Releford and Trevor Lacey to score from the perimeter. Both are good enough shooting the three that they, along with 6’6” sophomore Rodney Cooper, can have some magical nights, but eventually someone has to score and rebound down low.

THE REST

Vanderbilt: A program that’s enjoyed its share of success is on a major rebuilding project, though at least 17 ppg Kedren Johnson gives the Commodores something to build around.

Georgia: Another case of a team with one good player, in this case Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, with his 18/7 each night.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have nothing. A loss to Alabama A&M on December 30 is the harbinger of a long year ahead.

Can Kentucky Be Caught In The SEC Basketball Race?

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The SEC gave the country a good Saturday of college basketball. Tennessee upset UConn and within conference play Kentucky survived Alabama 77-71, and Mississippi State won an overtime thriller over Vanderbilt, with all three games on national television. Today, TheSportsNotebook will take a look at the race for the conference championship and how the contenders compare.

Kentucky leads the league with a 5-0 record and will almost surely ascend to #1 nationally after Syracuse’s loss at Notre Dame. Vanderbilt and Florida each have one conference loss, while Mississippi State’s win Saturday kept them in the mix at 3-2 in SEC games. Since the Bulldogs are ranked #15 in the country, and probably going to move up when the new polls come out, I’m going to include them in this discussion, something that’s not being accorded to other two-loss teams in Ole Miss and Arkansas. Why? I think only Mississippi State, Florida or Vandy have a puncher’s chance of stealing this league from the Wildcats this year and that’s what this article is aimed at. Here’s a breakdown of the SEC’s top four…

Kentucky (19-1 5-0): Only a last-second three-pointer at Indiana is keeping John Calipari’s team from undefeated status, but being a typically young Calipari outfit, there’s reason to think they can get better. Six players get most of the action, and three are freshman while two more are sophomores. And the one senior, guard Darius Miller is the least productive of the bunch.

Freshman Marquis Teague runs the show and I would like to see better play from him. He’s doing a decent job in distributing the ball, but he’s not a great shooter and I’d like to see his assists shoot up close to double-digits, along the lines of Kendall Marshall at North Carolina. That’s a high expectation to put on a freshman, but when you’re a Calipari recruit you’re probably only around for two years at most anyway. Doron Lamb is the sharpshooter in the backcourt, equally adept in hitting from in front of the arc or behind it. The frontcourt is led by 6’10” freshman Anthony Jones, averaging 14 points/10 rebounds per game right now, while fellow frosh Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and sophomore Terrence Jones each score in double digits and kick in some rebounding help. The frontline is already playing at national championship level, Lamb can make defenses pay for collapsing down, so all that’s left is for Teague to raise his game a little bit. One of the country’s highly touted recruits coming into the year, I think there’s every reason to think he can do that, and it’s why I believe this team is the best in the nation right now.

Vanderbilt (14-5, 4-1): Vandy opened the season with hopes of challenging Kentucky and being a legitimate Final Four threat. After a tough December they briefly fell off the radar, but they now seem to be settling back in. The Commodores can beat you outside with the three-ball and they go hard to the glass with a balanced frontcourt. That’s a nice combination to have working for you, and while they don’t have the raw talent of UK, they do have experience.

The backcourt is led by senior Brad Tinsley and junior John Jenkins, a duo in its third straight year of starting together. Both are solid shooters from the floor and good from downtown. Jenkins is the pure scorer of the two averaging 20 ppg. At forward Jeffrey Taylor averages a 17/6 line and can step out hit the three himself. Lance Goulborne and Festus Ezeli fill the roles well, providing modest offense and solid rebounding help. If Ezeli, at 6’11”, can start grabbing 11-12 rebounds a game, up from his current 7-8, Vandy can win the SEC, which means they could also be the nation’s best.

Florida (15-4, 3-1): Billy Donovan has an experienced backcourt and a rebuilt frontcourt, which perhaps explains why his team is very dependent on shooting the ball to win. In Florida’s three SEC wins they’ve shot better than 50 percent from the floor. The one time they didn’t, they lost to Tennessee. That’s a tough way to make a living if you’ve got designs on a championship, since eventually you have to survive games when the shots aren’t falling.

Florida’s guards are Kenny Boynton and Ervin Walker. Like Vandy’s backcourt, the Gator pair has been together for several years now. Walker is a pure point guard, who distributes very well and shoots well enough to make you respect his jumper. Boynton is a lights-out two-guard who averages 18 ppg. Freshman Bradley Beal has been inserted into what’s become a three-guard offense, and Beal has made his mark by hitting the boards, even though he’s only 6’3”. That’s a nice intangible for the Gators to have, but it also underscores why the post men of Patric Young and Erik Murphy need to develop. Young is the only pure rebounder on this team right now, as Murphy is a finesse big man who can step out and hit the outside shot. Overall, Florida looks like a fun team that can play spoiler, but it’s tough to see them competing for an SEC title when a 6’3” guard is your second-best rebounder.

Mississippi State (16-4, 3-2): The Bulldogs haven’t played great in SEC games, winning an ugly game against Alabama and losing to Arkansas. They rely on getting to the free throw line, which can be an iffy proposition in road arenas come late January and February. But senior guard Dee Bost is a solid leader who scores 16 ppg, and the front court has three quality contributors in Arnetti Moultrie, Rodney Hood and Renardo Sidney. Moultrie is a tough rebounder and good scorer, giving MSU a good inside-out combo, while hood and Sidney provide reliable support. If the Bulldogs want to stay in this race, they need sophomore Jalen Steele to step up and provide Bost some help in the backcourt.

The SEC’s been as down in basketball lately as they have been up in football, something that can be obscured by the presence of Kentucky, but not since Florida’s back-to-back national champions of 2006-07, has the league been deep and provided several quality teams in its conference title race. In other years, the current Florida and Mississippi State teams would have been live contenders. This year I’d see both of them a notch behind Vanderbilt and Kentucky, with the young and talented Wildcats living up to the press clippings of their recruitment, at least for the rest of the regular season.

For the coming week, the games to keep an eye on are Vandy’s trip to Tennessee tomorrow night. The Vols are 9-10, but with the recent wins over Florida and UConn, we have to think this young team may be coming on. And on Saturday it’s Mississippi State going to Florida. Feburary is the real sweeps month, when Kentucky plays Vanderbilt twice, along with Florida and Mississippi State.