The outbreak of COVID-19 has taken over the sports world with the professional sports in suspension and the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament. So, Sixers Wire will bring back some of the best moments of March Madness for the current Philadelphia 76ers.
Saturday’s edition switches back to Al Horford who is helping Florida try and get past a tough Georgetown team on their quest to an NCAA title. It was an excellently played game all the way down to the wire as both the Gators and the Hoyas had some talented bigs down low to battle each other. However, there was one big play made by a former Sixer that was the difference down the stretch.
March 25, 2006
Florida and Georgetown were down to the wire. Ashanti Cook had just given the Hoyas a 53-52 lead with 1:42 left to play. After a few empty possessions, Corey Brewer pulled down an offensive rebound and he flung it towards the basket and it dropped plus he was fouled by Brandon Bowman. Brewer finished the And-1, Horford grabbed the ensuing Georgetown miss, and then he finished it off with two free throws to ice it. Florida earned the 57-53 win to move on to the Elite 8.
Joakim Noah led Florida with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Taurean Green had 13 points, Horford had 12 points and six rebounds, and Brewer had nine points. It was an impressive win for the Gators as they were not able to use their fastbreak style they like to play at. They had to grind it out and be patient in order to execute any offense.
Horford told reporters postgame:
This wasn’t our style of play, but we had to adjust and play whichever way we have to play. If that meant grinding it out like that, we got it done.
Florida now moves on to a new challenge in the shape of the 1 seeded Villanova Wildcats. The Wildcats are laced with NBA talent led by Kyle Lowry, Randy Foye, and Dante Cunningham. Horford and the Gators will have to play at their best to come away with that one. [lawrence-related id=28424,28407,28399]