Number 3: Florida, 2007
The Bruins were in the midst of a three-year back-to-back-to-back Final Four run. The year prior, they tasted the limelight in the form of a championship game appearance, where theylostto a mighty Florida Gators team that featuredsixfuture NBA players.
The 2006-2007 UCLA squad was different, however. Focused, battle-tested, and with a backcourtstarringJordan Farmar, Russell Westbrook, Aaron AfflaloandDarren Collison, the Ben Howland-led Bruins romped through a 26-5 regular season and Pac-10 championship, appearing poised to breakthrough with a championship.
Defense, the hallmark of any Howland team, was at the forefront; the second-seeded bruins held theirfirst four opponentsin the tournament to 42 (!), 49, 55 and 55 points, respectively. Defending champion and newly-crowned nemesis Florida loomed on the horizon. However, Bruins fans anticipated a different outcome than the previous year’s 73-57 dismantling.
With tipoff pending, the Bruins stared across at Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford and the other blue-chip studs on the Gators front line. UCLA, simply put, did not have an answer. The Florida frontcourt shot 17-24 and the Bruins did not have an answer.
Down 29-23 at the half, the UCLA guards – all of whom would star in the NBA – could notmuster enough pointsin Howland’s restrictive system to mount a formidable comeback. The 76-66 loss left Bruins fans disappointed once again, and though they’d return to the Final Four the next season, the result by that point would be almost preordained.
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