The Florida Gators became only the seventh team in NCAA Basketball Tournament history to repeat as national champions Monday night, pushing aside Ohio State 84-75 in a game with all of the excitement of looking at an ashtray.

After four very exciting rounds of basketball in the 62-team playoff tournament, the last two rounds put a lot of fans to sleep, including me.

The Final 4 found #1 Ohio State easing past #2 Georgetown 67-60 even though freshman phenom Greg Oden only played a half game (20 minutes) because of foul trouble early on. All Big 10 freshman guard Mike Conley Jr. stepped up with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assets and exactly 1 turnover.

Oden came back big in the second half, scoring 13 points and picking off 8 rebounds.

There is not another team in the country with two freshmen like Oden and Conley. Oden is only the top NBA draft prospect in the country, and at times he has played as advertised. No one should be comparing him to the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar yet, but he certainly will get better in college if not in the pros next year.

Georgetown's 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 24 minutes of play and held his own against the younger, more celebrated Oden.

Hibbert, however, had little support from teammates Jeff Green, who scored 9 points on only 5 shots after averaging nearly 16 points in the tournament, and DaJuan Summers, who scored only 3 points after averaging nearly 18 points in his two prior playoff games.

It was the 22nd straight victory for the Buckeyes who would see their streak come to a screeching halt against Florida.

In the second semi-final, Florida dealt UCLA another spanking, advancing 76-66, and the score was a lot closer than the game on the court. Florida knocked off UCLA in last year's NCAA tournament 73-57 to win the national championship.

When Bruin guard and Pac 10 Player of the Year Arron Afflalo went to the bench early in the first half with foul trouble the game was over. Despite a second half rally that fell way too short, Florida had this game in the bag.

Coach Ben Howland has done a great job turning around UCLA's program but he and the Bruins will have to wait another year to become more famous.

Never mind that UCLA entered the game at 11-1 against ranked opponents this year or that they were 17-2 against teams in this year's NCAA tournament. Florida has done a little butt kicking of its own, going 20-1 in postseason play the last three years, and going 22-1 in March during that time.

So Florida and Ohio State headed into a national championship for the second time in a year, this time in basketball. Florida beat Ohio State by 27 points in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) national championship football game in January. Both schools have become powerhouse programs.

Ohio State had Oden, Conley and a lot of hope and prayer. Florida had five starters each of whom was averaging in double figures yet sharing the ball, as all averaged within 2.4 shots of one another and none averaged as many as 10 shots a game. That is called balance.

The Buckeyes decided to leave Oden underneath and did not challenge Florida shooters on the perimeter, and the Gators canned enough 3-pointers to move away quickly and stay ahead.

Florida drained 10 three-pointers, shot 49% from the floor and 88% from the free throw line.

Ohio State's big impression center Greg Oden led all scorers with 25 points and tied for the game-high with 12 rebounds, but he had little help from his teammates who would have needed a ball with eyes to catch Florida.

For the record, this was the first Final 4 in which all four finalists had 30 or more wins. It was the second Final 4 in which every team was a No. 2 seed or better. And the championship game was only the 5th pairing of no. 1 seeds.

Show a little love for Billy Donovan and his players, all of whom decided not to go pro and came back to try a repeat. They did it. It sounds so simple to say but Florida was the first team since Duke in 1992 to win back-to-back championships and only the seventh team ever to do it.

The others were Oklahoma State (1945-46), Kentucky (1948-49), San Francisco (1955-56), Cincinnati (1961-62), UCLA (1964-65 and 1967-73) and Duke (1991-92).

UCLA won 9 titles in 10 years and 7 in-a-row under coach John Wooden, arguably the greatest coach to ever walk on the hardwood. UCLA also entered its Florida game with an all-time winning percentage of .738 in the NCAA tournament and an all-time 93-33 record.

Coach Billy Donovan has some work to do if he ever expects to rival John Wooden.

After winning his second national championship, Donovan said "I think this team should go down as one of the best teams in the history of college basketball.

"Not as the most talented, and not on style points, but because they encompassed what the word 'team' means, " said Donovan. "They did it the first year with no expectations, then they did it again with all the expectations."

Buckeye coach Thad Matta did not wear out his mind agreeing with Donovan, saying "I would put them in a category of some of the best teams to win."

Florida just ripped Ohio State a new backside.

The starting five for the Gators-Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey-is thought to be the only starting five ever to win back-to-back titles. Florida's 68 wins over the past two seasons are tied for the 10th most in NCAA history.

2007 NCAA Tournament Results for Round 5 - The Final 4

#1 Ohio State eliminated #2 Georgetown 67-60

#1 Florida eliminated #2 UCLA 76-66

2007 NCAA Tournament Results for Round 6 - Championship Game

#1 Florida eliminated #1 Ohio State 84-75 to win its second straight title.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley