Championship Game Preview

After an exciting three weeks of basketball, March Madness has dwindled to two teams. Tonight at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis the University of Florida takes on UCLA. Both teams won handily over the weekend to set up an exciting final for tonight. Florida is making its first finals appearance since they lost to Michigan St. in the same building in 2000. UCLA last advanced to the championship game when it defeated Arkansas to win the 1995 Championship. Since the game tips in just a little while, this will be just a brief preview of what to look for tonight:

UCLA: The Bruins have advanced to the Championship game with tenacious defense. They have held their last two opponents (Memphis and LSU) to just 45 points. The Pac-10 Champs are carried by their starting backcourt of Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo. They received a tremendous effort from Freshman forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in their semifinal win over LSU and need him to play well against Florida's formidable front court. Center Ryan Hollins and swingman Cedric Bozeman provide senior leadership for a very young team. They have tremendous depth, being able to go to a 9 or 10 man rotation.

Florida: The Gators boast a tremendous starting five, with four sophomores and one junior. The lone junior, Lee Humphrey, shot the Gators in to the finals with 6 three pointers against George Mason. Humphrey is joined in the backcourt by sophomore Taurean Green who gets to the basket and distributes very well. Sophomore swingman Corey Brewer is a very tough defender with a versatile offensive game. Fellow sophomores Al Horford and Joakim Noah join him in the front court and are both extremely athletic. Florida's length on defense drove George Mason crazy. Joakim Noah has been the star of the tournament and could be the key to this game.

PREVIEW: UCLA will need their frontcourt to play at the top of their game to stick with a very talented, big frontcourt of Florida. Florida's starting frontcourt is as good as there is in the country and they bring big men off the bench to spell Horford and Noah. UCLA will need to hit open shots and effectively score in the paint like it did against LSU. The Bruins hold a slight edge in the backcourt with Afflalo and Farmar, but only if they can hit some shots from beyond the arc. For UCLA to win they must keep the score down, which is not easy against the nation's best shooting team. Florida has played better than anyone else in the tournament and has a stronger starting five. UCLA has a lot of bench depth, but Florida has enough guys off the pine to keep their starters fresh. I've been predicting Florida since the Final Four was set and I'm sticking to it.
Prediction: Florida 67, UCLA 61