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.
Wednesday edition takes us back to 2007 when Al Horford and the Florida Gators continued their march towards a repeat. After disposing of Purdue in the last round, they turned their attention to the Butler Bulldogs who played with the mentality of a bulldog from the beginning and they left their mark on the Gators.
March 24, 2007
The Bulldogs were the definition of scrappy. They gave Florida a real battle and their physical play even left drips of bloodstains on the jerseys of Horford and Joakim Noah. That was not enough to stop the big men down low and they went to work in the final minutes to close it out.
With the game tied at 54 late, Horford worked in the post against Butler’s Brandon Crone and he bullied him for a bucket plus the foul to give Florida the lead for good and they went on to win it 65-57. Taurean Green led the Gators with 17 points, but Horford had 16 points and he went to the foul line 10 times while Noah had 13 points and nine rebounds.
This was nothing new for the defending champs as they have been dealing with the physical play all throughout the tournament. Horford told reporters afterward:
We’re going to do whatever it takes.
Teams are going to play you a lot different when you’re the defending national champions, and we’re aware of that.
The Gators’ quest for a repeat continues on as they now head into the Elite 8 to face the Oregon Ducks. [lawrence-related id=28654,28647,28638]