UCLA – Florida thread

It’s tournament time in the city. Ring-a-ling. Hear them ring. Soon it will be the Final Four…

A trip to the Sweet Sixteen is on the line when the Pac10 clashes with the SEC in Tampa.

Ben Howland vs. Billy Donovan

Bruins vs. Gators

History vs. “The Kid”

Gators and Bruins collide in Southeast Regional play.

Florida Gators’ No.2 seed is no advantage.

A view from both sides.

Pre-tournament quotes: Florida Gators

This is UCLA’s 44th NCAA Tournament appearance (ranks second nationally) and the sixth for the Bruins under head coach Ben Howland. UCLA has an all-time winning percentage of .735 in the NCAA Tournament with a record of 100-36, which ranks second behind Duke’s .758 (94-30). UCLA’s 100victories rank third, only to North Carolina’s 102 and Kentucky’s 102 wins. UCLA made three straight trips to the Final Four (2006-08) and leads the
country in National Championships (11) and Final Four appearances (18).

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2 … NCAA Championships won by Florida (2006,2007)
3 …Florida has played for the national title three times since 2000, the only SEC team to do so in that time
4 … The Gators have played in four Final Fours, three of which have come under Billy Donovan (2000,2006, 2007)

…UF’s three Final Four appearances since 2000 tie for third nationally behind Michigan State (five) and North Carolina (four)
27 … UF reached 27 wins for just the fifth time in school history…All four of the previous 27-win teams (1993-94, 1999-00, 2005-06, 2006-07) have gone on to the Final Four, with two of those squads (2006 and 2007) winning the NCAA title
307 … Florida has won 307 games since the 1999- 2000 season, the highest total in the Southeastern Conference
.928 … The Gators’ .928 NCAA Tournament winning percentage since 2005-06 is the nation’s highest
3 … Billy Donovan is the third-youngest coach to win multiple NCAA titles (Bobby Knight, Indiana – 35, 40; Phil Woolpert, San Francisco – 39,40).

Florida Category UCLA*
71.8 Points Per Game 70.0
62.6 Opp. Points Per Game 65.8
.464 Field Goal Percentage .456
.423 Opp. Field Goal Percentage .416
.356 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage .329
.317 Opp. 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage .342
.669 Free Throw Percentage .683
+6.2 Rebound Margin +4.7
6.3 3-Pts. Per Game 5.2
5.6 Opp. 3-Pts. Per Game 5.0
3.5 Blocks Per Game 5.8
6.0 Steals Per Game 5.5
14.0 Assists Per Game 14.6
12.4 Turnovers Per Game 14.9
12.7 Turnovers Forced Per Game 12.1

Notes courtesy of uclabruins.com and gatorzone.com.