#2 UCLA vs. #3 Florida
NCAA Championship Game
Monday, April 3rd, 2006
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UCLA's defense hoping to slow Gators: The Bruins (32-6) will try to duplicate the outstanding interior defense that shut down LSU on Saturday in a 59-45 victory, as the duo of Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis made just 7-of-21 shots from the field and combined for 19 points.  UCLA needs to do the same thing against Florida's Joakim Noah and Al Horford, who are bigger and better than Thomas and Davis.  "LSU's big men were real good and real strong," UCLA forward Lorenzo Mata said. "Florida is the same way and we're going to do the same thing and use the same strategy."  Mata grabbed eight rebounds off the bench for the Bruins while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute tied his career high with 17 points and also grabbed a game-high nine boards.  7-footer Ryan Hollins will be another key inside force for UCLA, giving the team multiple big bodies to throw at the Gators.  The Bruins have allowed just one team to score more than 60 points during their 12-game winning streak with the total going UNDER in four of five games during the tournament and six of eight overall.  UCLA is 11-1 all-time in national championship games and has won the title 11 times in 14 previous Final Fours. 

Florida's outside shooting could be the difference: The Gators (32-6) were able to blow by George Mason in the second half on Saturday thanks to superior perimeter shooting, led by Lee Humphrey's 3-point shooting.  Humphrey made 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc, including three straight after halftime in Florida's 73-58 win.  "Humpty was a monster tonight," Noah said. "When he's hitting shots like that, we're tough to beat." Corey Brewer and Taurean Green each made 3-of-6 3-point attempts as well in helping the Gators make 12-of-25 overall, tying a national semifinal record.  UCLA guards Aaron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar will have their work cut out for them in defending the perimeter but have been successful so far in the tourney.  Memphis and LSU made only 2-of-23 3-point shots in the last two games against the Bruins, who are holding opponents to 17 percent shooting from 3-point range in the Big Dance.  However, the Gators are riding a 10-game winning streak and have gone 5-0 ATS in the Big Dance with the total going UNDER each time.

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