The tennis star's son dominated UCLA with 16 points, nine rebounds and a record seven blocks Monday night to key a 73-57 blowout for Florida's first national title in basketball.
The championship for Billy Donovan's team comes 10 years after Steve Spurrier led the Gators to a title in that ``other'' sport. Spurrier is long gone, and the days of Florida being only a football school appear to be, too.
For 40 lopsided minutes, the Gators (33-6) were too big, too long and too quick for UCLA, which came up a win short of its 12th national title on a night when legendary coach John Wooden watched from a hospital bed in LA after being admitted for an undisclosed illness that was said not to be serious.
Florida and Noah won by putting on a thorough display of versatility and unselfishness, a trademark of this team all season.
The Bruins (32-7) were on a defensive tear coming into the championship game, shutting down LSU's Glen Davis in the semifinals and allowing a total of 90 points in the last two games. Florida, though, was just too much to handle.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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