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.
Tuesday’s matchup moves on to the Florida Gators of 2007 as Al Horford looks to lead his team to a repeat. In this edition, Horford and the Gators are taking on the UCLA Bruins in the 2007 Final Four in a rematch from the 2006 national title game where Florida took home the first title in school history.
March 31, 2007
The Bruins were ready for the rematch as they took an early 14-13 lead on a Josh Shipp jumper, but Florida responded with a 13-2 run to take the 26-16 lead and eventually lead it 29-23 at the half. Much like in the 2006 title game, the Florida lead kept growing and it ballooned to 49-32 thanks to Corey Brewer and Lee Humphrey. The lead would be sustained and they went on to win 76-66.
Brewer led Florida with 19 points, Chris Richard had 16 off the bench, and Humphrey had 14 points. The big men duo of Horford and Joakim Noah contributed too. Horford had nine points and 17 rebounds and Noah had eight points and 11 boards to help them get to the title game for the second consecutive season.
Afterward, UCLA coach Ben Howland had a lot of respect for Florida as he said:
You have to give credit to them. They have outstanding players and they’re very, very well coached. That all being said, we’re very disappointed about losing tonight and being here for a second straight year without bringing home a championship.
Up next on the path to a repeat is the Ohio State Buckeyes led by Greg Oden and Mike Conley. [lawrence-related id=29037,29021,29013]