65 teams entered the tournament a bit over two weeks ago and after some tough games, thrilling comebacks and a few (very few make that) surprises, only two teams remain. Tonight it is Ohio State vs. the defending champion Florida Gators. There are a ton of storylines in this game, more than there usually is actually, but that’s hard to say because I know for a fact that journalist can be crafty.
For one, Florida defeated Ohio State at college football’s national championship game. It’s a fairly good bet that Ohio’s basketball team can put up more than the 14 points that their football counterparts did in their loss.
Also, no team has won consecutive NCAA tournaments since Duke accomplished the feat back in the ‘91-92 tournaments. With all of their starters returning from last season, it’s still a good bet Florida can do it.
This could be phenom Greg Oden’s final college game as well as his last chance to show his abilities in a big game. Oden has frequently gotten into foul trouble throughout the tourney and has had his playing time limited because of it. Going up against Jo-Noah and Al Horford will be a challenge to the big man and it wouldn’t be a bad bet to say he racks up a couple of fouls quickly.
And since both of our brackets a done, the Intern and I have decided to bet since we no longer of bias or loyalty to our previous picks.
Dan: Florida 72, Ohio State 60
The Intern: Ohio State 76, Florida 67