Despite Greg Oden’s best efforts and best game of the tournament, Florida’s all-around team play carried them to their second NCAA title in a row. Another factor in the loss that became glaringly obvious towards the end of the game was Thad Matta’s horrendous coaching job of Ohio. With Florida’s big men in foul trouble and Oden clearly dominating down low, the Buckeyes continually threw up ill-fated three point attempts instead of capitalizing on the single coverage and foul situations down low. If the phenom Oden had been able to draw four more fouls, there wouldn’t have been anybody left who could guard him down low while eliminating Al Horford and Joakim Noah on the offensive end. It was a sloppy job in my opinion.
The questions will now start coming up about whether or not college stars will enter the draft for NBA money or if they’ll stick around for an education. Florida could hypothetically bring back four of their starters again and bring a third straight title home. Oden, who admittedly likes going to school, may stay in college because he knows the money will always be waiting for him. Kevin Durant may stay at Texas to help the Longhorns get deeper in the tournament next year. These decisions will have a huge impact on the draft and must have lottery teams like Memphis and Boston, who have blatantly tanked games, praying that the young guns declare.