POINT GUARD
UF’s Taurean Green vs. UCLA’s Jordan Farmar: It’s sophomore vs. sophomore, which can’t make either coach comfortable. Farmar broke out against LSU, scoring on 3-of-6 shooting on 3’s. Green also knocked down 3-of-6 in his semifinal but he had no assists.
Edge: UCLA.
SHOOTING GUARD
UF’s Lee Humphrey vs. UCLA’s Cedric Bozeman: A lot depends on which Humphrey shows up – the one who went 1-for-5 on 3’s in the first half against George Mason or the one who went 5-for-7 in the second half. At 6-6, Bozeman has a four-inch height advantage over Humphrey, which could create mismatch problems.
Edge: Florida.
SMALL FORWARD
UF’s Corey Brewer vs. UCLA’s Aaron Afflalo: Brewer had a ‘quiet’ team-high 19 points in the Gators’ win over George Mason but he also committed a team-high six turnovers. Afflalo is coming off a 3-of-11 shooting performance, but he is the Bruins most explosive offensive player. Brewer must make him play defense.
Edge: UCLA.
POWER FORWARD
UF’s Al Horford vs. UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: Horford had 13 rebounds, tying an RCA Dome record set by Larry ‘LJ’ Johnson. He also played sensational defense on Mason’s big men. Mbah a Moute did a superb defensive job on Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis. If he has another 17-point, nine-rebound game, Florida is in trouble.
Edge: Florida.
CENTER
UF’s Joakim Noah vs. UCLA’s Ryan Hollins: Noah has 23 blocked shots in this tournament and he was able play safety against the Patriots. He’s emotional and must not let the moment consume him. Hollins is a role player who just do enough to keep Noah honest. Noah has a chance to win this matchup big-time. If he does, UCLA is in trouble.
Edge: Florida.
BENCH/INTANGIBLES
Florida got almost nothing statistically off its bench against George Mason but it did get 24 minutes from big man Chris Richard, which allowed Noah (26) and Horford (29) to keep their minutes down. UCLA coach Ben Howland has to use his bench in order to apply the defensive pressure he craves. At one point in the first half, he subbed four players at once and his subs (47 minutes) almost played as many minutes as his starters (53) in the first half. Guard Darren Collison could be the difference maker as could free throws, a Bruin weakness.
Edge: UCLA.
COACHING
UF’s Billy Donovan vs. UCLA’s Ben Howland: What a remarkable job by Howland, who has gotten his once-soft program to be as tough as any in the nation. He won at Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh and now UCLA. This is Billy Donovan’s second Final Four as a coach, fourth overall, the 8th straight year he’s taken Florida to Big Dance.
Edge: Even.
LINE: Gators -1 (127 1/2)
9 p.m., Ch. 2, WFAN-AM (660)
PREDICTION: UCLA 63 – FLORIDA 61
FLORIDA – UCLA
32-6 RECORD 32-6
78.4 AVG. SCORING 68.3
63.7 AVG. OPPONENT 58.3
+14.7 MARGIN +9.7
.502 FG PCT. .476
.400 OPP FG PCT. .414
.394 3-PT. PCT. .350
7.4 3-PT. PER GAME 4.8
.321 OPP. 3-PT. PCT. .329
.743 FT PCT. .691
.664 OPP. FT PCT. .700
+3.9 REBOUNDING MARGIN +4.6
+1.0 TURNOVER MARGIN +0.1
7.6 AVERAGE STEALS 5.8
5.2 AVERAGE BLOCKS 2.9