Same (Gators) Team, So Same (Beating the Bruins) Result

We spent our first night at our new home last night. Actually it was already past mid-night when we went to bed after all the setting up of the new home following our moving earlier in the day, with hired help.

And it was an auspicious day for the Gators when its semi-final game against the Bruins was the very first collegiate basketball game that we watched in our new home. This time, though, we have basic cable, which means we got to watch the game in clear picture and vivid color (we had to depend on a TV-top aerial for reception in our previous home). Same Gators team, and what else but the same result.

Jeff Goodman has this to say in his piece entitled Florida better not expect same UCLA team “The Gators could very well still come out with a victory, but this one definitely won't be a double-figure win.”

After the Gators came up top tonight 76-66 and a double-digit lead for most of the second half, one can say Jeff Goodman is only half right, that the Gators was victorious, but with an exactly double-digit margin.

In comparison, my prediction seems to have fared better, that the Gators won with sort of a mini runaway triumph. The Gators team has simply too many weapons for the Bruins to handle despite the latter's reputation for playing stifling defense. And tonight is Corey Brewer's turn to do damage. And the Gators' big men were phenomenal on the offensive board.

As for the final on Monday, the Gators have already handed the Buckeyes two landslide defeats: one on the basketball court in last December despite that the game was played in Gainesville, and the other one on the football field early this year, so it would not surprise me at all if history is repeated come Monday, given the balance, the depth, the chemistry among the players, and the championship game experience, not forgetting the coach.

Next Stop: AtlanGators

I was both right and wrong as regards my prediction of the outcome of the Midwest regional final match between the Gators and the Ducks. First, the Gators prevailed, 85-77. But on the flip side as evident from the scoreline, the Gators did not win big. But a win is a win.

Another conclusion from the game is that size does matter, at least in basketball. And the two blocks by the Gators’ big men in the second half are the definitive statements of that. First, the block by Big Al on a Brooks' layup, and Al got the ball too, while going airborne out of bound, and had the presence of mind to throw it to his team-mate before he landed outside the court.

Then, in the dying seconds, Corey Brewer made another spectacular block that really sealed the fate of the Ducks.

However, the day belongs to Lee Humphrey, my namesake. I had a premonition of that early in the second half when Lee Humphrey, who is known for his 3-pointer prowess, got a steal and scored on a layup. This happened at 6:30 left in the first half.

Then Lee’s ferocious back-spinning 3-pointer attempt, also in the first half, tore through the net, literally. The game was suspended for about 10 minutes for the net to be replaced, putting the technician on national TV, probably his first time.

At the end, Lee got seven 3-pointers, out of 12. And Tajuan Porter, the diminutive guard of the Ducks that practically demolished the Running Rebels two days before, was practically helpless against Taurean Green of the Gators because of the height disparity. Offensively, he only had 2 points in the first half. What a fortune reversal. But I think he would learn his lessons well.

During the half-time commentary, the hosts brought up a term, spurtability, it being, I guess, the ability to score in spurts. But what sustains a team is the ability to play consistently at both ends of the court, and keeping a cool head under pressure. I think several shot selections by the Ducks in the last few minutes of the game bear testimony to the team losing their cool, shooting blank with their two 3-pointer attempts.

As for my projection of the Gators being due for winning big, today’s result is only delaying the inevitable. That means the Bruins is in for a rude awakening, psyching themselves up for revenge after their lop-sided loss last year to the Gators, despite a convincing win against the Jayhawks.

If only North Carolina defeats Georgetown in the remaining regional final that is ongoing now, then my selection of the Final Four makeup would be complete.