Final Four Review

I suppose I have to give credit where credit is due. After tearing Thad Matta apart in my final four preview, he coached a fantastic game against a tremendous Georgetown team. Matta stayed away from that weak 2-2-1 zone press, but still successfully utilized multiple defenses. The 2-3 zone, which they have seldom played throughout the year, was extremely effective, particularly against Jeff Green. After looking like the Big East Player of the Year and a top-10 draft pick against UNC, Green pulled off a disappearing act reminiscent of Tyler Hansbrough vs. USC. Green actually did not play a bad game, reeling in 12 rebounds, but rather he just was not the presence he needed to be. When you are the best all-around player on your team, you cannot be content with catching the ball and simply reversing it back around the perimeter every single time.

Oden and Hibbert both experienced the foul trouble that we all expected, playing only 44 minutes combined. It was actually quite disappointing considering the potential of this matchup which was being hyped as the greatest battle of bigs in the last 20 years. Hibbert impressed me despite his brief stint. In just 24 minutes, Hibbert managed to score 19 points and looked unstoppable in the post. Even when Oden, who is highly regarded as a terrific defender, had little success against Hibbert. Granted, Oden was playing tentatively at times to avoid fouls, but Hibbert's repertoire of post moves, including spins in both directions and hooks with both hand, was very impressive.

As for Oden, I am apparently the only person in the world who is skeptical about him. Keep in mind that being skeptical about Oden means I worry that he will only be an All-Star and not a Hall-of-Famer. Regardless, several things bother me about Oden. First of all, I haven't watched him stay out of foul trouble once all season. Despite Dick Vitale's cries that he is being reffed unfairly, I maintain that both Oden and Durant often get the benefit of the doubt. I swear, at least 30% of Oden's blocks are goaltending! Point is, Oden has been unable to adapt his game to avoid fouls, and I don't see it as a problem that is simply going to disappear at the next level. In addition, he still seems to lack the feel for the game offensively that a guy like Hibbert displays. Other than powerful two-handed dunks, his arsenal includes awkward moves and an ugly hook shot that he actually throws downwards at the hoop because of his length and jumping ability. The biggest shot he hit against Georgetown was a ten-foot-jumper with little arc that clanked of the back of the rim and happened to bounce up and in. Finally, and Oden said this himself, Hibbert was the first person he's ever played against that was taller than him! If I recall correctly, the NBA has a few other 7-footers. The following players' games don't compare to Oden's of course, but for the sake of argument, guys like Eric Montross and Dwayne Schinitzius looked great in college too. Oden is definitely not going to be a stiff in the NBA, I'm just not convinced that he's going to be Bill Russell either.

The Florida-UCLA game went much as expected, with Florida's depth being far too much for UCLA to handle. Then again, it was also an extremely odd game in that UCLA had only three turnovers the whole game. This would theoretically lead to a victory, but unfortunately, neither Collison nor Afflalo made a field goal in the first three quarters of the game, and three of their starters (Afflalo, Mata, and Mbah A Moute) fouled out and played less than 25 minutes. I was especially disappointed by Afflalo's performance. After picking up a foul in the first minute of the game, as an experienced player, Afflalo should have been at least a little but careful. Instead, he picked up his second foul with 18 minutes left in the first half. Honestly, the game was pretty much over then and there. He scored 17 points in the second half to save his box score, but anyone who saw the game knows that those points were utterly meaningless.

As for Florida, they continue to play great basketball and display their versatility. This game was Corey Brewer's turn to have the spotlight. Noah and Horford combined for an amazing 28 rebounds, but only 17 points. Brewer picked up that slack quite nicely, scoring a super-efficient 19 points on only 7 field goal attempts. He was 4-5 from the arc and his fantastic defense was also on display. Sometimes I forget that this kid is 6'9"--he's a classic matchup disaster. As an NBA player, I think Corey Brewer will be a similar player to Rashard Lewis, both in game-type and production.

With Humphrey continuing to knock down his shots, and Chris Richard playing beautifully off the bench (he now has 46 points for the tournament and has missed only 2 shots from the field), Florida is one of the best college teams in history. The championship game will not be a blowout like the team's first two meetings in Gainesville, I expect the result to be the same. Oden will struggle against the Florida trio of enforcers, and Conley can only carry them so far. At every position where the Buckeyes are strong, the Gators can either match them, or are stronger: Oden vs. Horford and Noah, Conley vs. Taurean Green (Conley may have a slight advantage here, but Green is much more experienced and also very talented), Ron Lewis/Daequan Cook vs. Corey Brewer, Jamar Butler vs Lee Humphrey, Othello Butler vs. Chris Richard.

Final Predictions:
Score: Florida 76, Ohio State 64
MVP: Al Horford
Other: Oden held to 12 points, Conley is bright spot for OSU, Horford and Noah combine for 30 and 20, Humphrey hits 4+ threes.