April 1, 2007

It happened on the gridiron, and now it will happen on the hardwood. Yes, my friends, it is Florida vs. Ohio State again.

The Gators are going for a place in history, trying to become the first team since Duke in 1991 and '92 to win back-to-back championships. Ohio State is trying o give Thad Matta a title before his 40th birthday.

The Gators beat the Buckeyes in the regular season, 86-60 in Gainesville. Taurean Green scored 24 points in that win, while Corey Brewer had 18. Billy Donovan's team had a 43-25 rebounding edge and hit nine-of-18 trifectas.

This time around, I am looking forward to the backcourt battle between Green and Mike Conley Jr. This is going to be something to watch as Conley had six assists and just one turnover in the national semifinal win over Georgetown. Green obviously had a big game in the first meeting. I was surprised that Green struggled trying to penetrate against Darren Collison.

Brewer has to do a good job on Ron Lewis, the same way he shut down Arron Afflalo Saturday. Lewis needs to have a better shooting game than he did against the Hoyas.

Al Horford only took three shots from the field against UCLA. I believe the Gators will try to go inside to Horford to challenge Greg Oden, who has been foul prone. Florida should try to get Oden into foul trouble, which plagued him against Georgetown. I don't think the Buckeyes can win if their diaper dandy big man only plays 20 minutes Monday night. Oden was on the sideline often in the first meeting at Florida, scoring seven points.

I love the way Florida handled UCLA's double teams and I feel the Gators can move the ball and get open looks. Donovan's team showed great spacing against the Bruins, being 15-17 feet apart, leading to easy baskets.

Ohio State has done a great job limiting mistakes in the last three games, committing just 24 turnovers in those victories. We will see if Florida can apply some pressure, leading to more mistakes.

It has the potential to be a special contest. Between them, Ohio State and Florida are 69-8 this season. WOW, that is awesome with a capital A!

These Florida kids came back on a mission. They could have gone for the mega dollars in the NBA, but they had a goal and a dream, to repeat as champions. They have a purpose and nothing will change here. Donovan and company get to cut down the nets. The Gators have great balance (nobody took more than nine shots from the floor Saturday) and a winner's mentality. This team will get the job done.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.