The Gators brought everyone back from last year's 73-57 thrashing of the
Bruins in the title game. Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer all decided
to pass up the lure of the NBA and team with Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey for
the opportunity to win another title.
However, this game is going to be different.
The Gators could very well still come out with a victory, but this one
definitely won't be a double-figure win.
Ben Howland's team is completely different. For one, the Bruins have that
bitter taste in their mouths from the embarrassing loss to the Gators. They may
not admit it, but revenge has been on their minds for close to 365 days.
More important, they have Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.
Sure, they had the 6-foot-1 Collison a year ago — but he was a freshman
backup to Jordan Farmar. It wasn't his team and that was clear by his
performance in the championship game. He was scoreless with just one assist in
21 minutes.
Farmar is gone — and so too is the lethargic offensive display that was, at
numerous times, painful to watch a year ago.
Collison is the son of a pair of All-American track stars. He's super-quick,
which not only means that the Bruins are able to push the ball offensively,
Howland is also able to do far more on the defensive end thanks to Collison's
ability to pressure the ball.
Collison is also far more comfortable now that the ball is in his hands most
of the time. He makes better decisions than Farmar and both he and Arron Afflalo
are not only fearless with the game on the line, but have proven they can make
big shots.
Just check out the 3-pointer Collison made with two defenders in his face as
the shot clock expired against Kansas late in the second half.
Shipp, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game, was
relegated to cheerleader status a year ago because of a hip injury that
sidelined the 6-foot-5 sophomore for all but four games. Not only has Shipp
improved into arguably the team's best help defender, he's formed the country's
top perimeter trio with Collison and Afflalo.
While the offense is more efficient because of the ability to get out and
push the ball, Howland's team is still built on defense.
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| Darren Collison gives UCLA a different look at
point guard this time around. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press) |
The Bruins have four of the best defenders at their positions in the entire
country: Collison, Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata. What the
front line is unable to give on the offensive end, it makes up for in its
defense production.
Ryan Hollins and Cedric Bozeman, a pair of seniors who weren't recruited by
Howland, started and logged major minutes in the loss to Florida last season.
They are both gone. Shipp is clearly an upgrade over Bozeman and while Hollins
put up 10 points and 10 boards against Noah and Horford a year ago, Mata brings
the defensive intensity that will be needed against the Florida front line.
Thus far, no one has scored more than 55 points against the Bruins in four
NCAA tournament games. Kansas was the only one that shot better than 40 percent
from the field and the Jayhawks were at 41.1 percent.
UCLA is also well-prepared after playing in the Pac-10, which this season was
as loaded top to bottom as it's been in some time.
The Gators may still have that swagger after knocking off Howland & Co.
when it mattered most a year ago, but it's not going to take Noah and his
teammates long to figure out this isn't the same team that they beat up on
pretty good.
This one can beat them.