Our Guide to the NCAAs/By Natasha Julius
THE SIXTH ROUND: Otherwise known as The NCAA Championship Game, Which Is Already Anti-Climactic Both Because Most Pool Winners Have Already Been Determined And Because It’s Not Nearly As Much Fun Watching A Single College Basketball Game As Tracking A Bracketful Of Picks.
UCLA vs. Florida
Both teams have been in imperious form since the Elite Eight, knocking out the top seeds in their respective brackets and posting double-digits wins in the Final Four. Going by seeding alone, UCLA has had the more impressive run, dispatching #3 and #4 teams to Florida’s two #11s. Of course, if we went by seeding alone Duke would be facing UConn right now.
Bruin Notes: UCLA played superb defense against Final Four opponent LSU, although they were helped by extremely poor free-throw shooting on the part of the Tigers. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute gave the team an explosive scoring ability that had been conspicuously absent in earlier rounds. The Bruins are hurting, however. Comically humongous senior Ryan Hollins, a major presence on the boards, is nursing a thigh bruise and logged only 17 minutes in the last game.
Gator Notes: Their Final Four tilt with over-matched George Mason was not so much a win as an outpatient surgery. Florida denied the Patriots their bread-and-butter three-point shots and dominated the offensive glass, frequently getting third and fourth looks at the basket. This team is composed entirely of gangly freaks with Dsungaripterus wingspans. Al Horford could probably slap me upside the head all the way from Indianapolis if he didn’t like my bracket picks.
The Match-Up: This final boasts many of the major themes of the tournament. Strict defense versus explosive offense, size versus grit, veteran leadership versus youthful bravado. It’s going to come down to the intangibles. Billy Donovan’s hair versus Ben Howland’s Zoom whitening; Jordan Farmar’s ears versus Joakim Noah’s pornstache.
Posted on April 2, 2006