Florida advances to Sweet 16

Florida tastes success against Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82-60 and dispatches its past woes. But the Gators still hunger for more.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published March 18, 2006

JACKSONVILLE - It was like giving a little kid a lollipop then having him ask "What else ya got?" while he's still opening the wrapping.

Less than a half hour after Florida defeated Milwaukee-Wisconsin 82-60 to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 Saturday, the Gator basketball players weren't talking about what they had just accomplished.

They were focused on what else is still out there.

"Everybody is talking about getting to the Sweet 16. We're trying to get to the Final Four," said sophomore forward Corey Brewer, who had a team-high 23 points. "That's the type of team and that's the type of guys we are. We're taking it round by round, but we're trying to win the whole thing."

"It feels good knowing we're going to the next round, but we're not finished yet," said sophomore guard Taurean Green, who had seven points and six assists. "We've got a lot more to do."

Florida will play the winner of today's Ohio State-Georgetown game, Friday, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

With a large Gator following among the 13,777 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Florida (29-6) advanced to the region semifinals for the first time since 2000, ending a five-year drought and the seemingly constant question of whether the Gators would ever make it out of the first weekend.

"Everybody got tired of it," Green said of the questions. "Now, nobody can ask it."

Florida ended the talk with "a total team effort." With starting center Al Horford and Brewer in early foul trouble, senior reserve Adrian Moss came in and gave the Gators a huge lift, ultimately grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and adding six points. Backup forward Chris Richard played 14 minutes (five points, four rebounds) and reserve guard Walter Hodge played 20 minutes, taking over for Green when he got into foul trouble.

Junior guard Lee Humphrey scored nine points and was instrumental in keeping Milwaukee-Wisconsin (22-9) guard Boo Davis in check. Davis averaged 16.5 points per game and scored 26 in the first round, but had just 10 Saturday. Teammate Joah Tucker, who also averaged in double figures, scored nine.

"You've got to give those guys a lot of credit," Davis said. "They made me work hard on both ends, and I didn't get a lot of good looks. The confidence wasn't really there, so it was just a difficult night for me."

"We really focused on (Davis)," Humphrey said. "It was kind of my job to just be his shadow."

Florida's emphasis on the perimeter meant it conceded the inside game of center Adrian Tigert, who scored a game-high 27 and had eight rebounds.

"Outstanding," UWM coach Rob Jeter said. ". . . He had been like this for us all year. He just takes what the other teams will give and he's a very patient player."

Florida led 34-26 at halftime, shooting 48.3 percent from the field. The Gators started the second half on a 9-2 run that opened up a 43-31 lead Wisconsin-Milwaukee couldn't overcome. Florida dominated in the paint, outscoring the Panthers 40-28 and won the rebounding battle 41-33.

The Gators shot 53.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. Despite foul trouble, Horford finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. Sophomore forward Joakim Noah was all around dominating: 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four blocks. But like the rest of his teammates, he isn't satisfied yet.

"I'll always remember these (past) two games, but right now we have to move on," Noah said. "We have a chance to do something even more special. You might think that's greedy, but we want more.

"We want more."

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 23:49:37]