St. Louis – Al Horford and Joakim Noah had small spots of blood speckled across their shirts and shorts – remnants of Butler’s aggressive, physical play.
For Florida’s big men, the red dots were a reminder of how tough it can be to try to repeat as national champions.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes,” Horford said.
They might have to, because if the top-seeded Gators are going to win consecutive NCAA titles, it seems they’re going to do it the hard way.
Horford had 16 points, seven rebounds and a key block in the final minute to help the top-seeded Gators overcome another slow start and hold off undersized Butler 65-57 on Friday night.
Florida (32-5), trying to become the first team since Duke in 1992 to win consecutive national titles, advanced to face Oregon in the Midwest Regional on Sunday.
“Teams are going to play you a lot different when you’re the defending national champions, and we’re aware of that,” Horford said.
Indeed.
The Gators trailed by as many as nine points and never found their comfort zone against the scrappy Bulldogs.
But they took control in the final two minutes – thanks mostly to Horford. The 6-foot-10 forward converted a three-point play with 2:34 remaining, then blocked a shot with 16.3 seconds to play.
Playing from behind was nothing new for Florida, at least not in this year’s tournament.
The Gators, who won six tournament games last year by an average of 16 points, have had more rough spots than expected in the first three rounds.
They trailed No. 16 seed Jackson State by five points early and were up just six at halftime before pulling away. They got behind by seven against Purdue in the first half and were down 33-29 early in the second.
Horford was the difference-maker against Purdue, and he did most of the damage against fifth-seeded Butler (29-7), too.
It culminated with his post move against Brandon Crone. Horford banged into him several times, backing down the whole way, then hit a close-range shot and drew Crone’s fifth foul. Horford made the free throw, putting the Gators ahead 57-54 with 2:34 to play.
OREGON 76, UNLV 72 at St. Louis: Tajuan Porter, the little guy nobody wanted, has the Ducks one game away from the Final Four.
The 5-foot-6 freshman tied an NCAA regional record with eight 3-pointers and finished with 33 points, and Oregon withstood a frantic comeback to top the seventh-seeded Runnin’ Rebels.
Malik Hairston had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon (29-7), which has not reached a Final Four since winning it all in 1939.
Maarty Leunen hit three 3-pointers and added 11 points.
After Porter and Hairston hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 66-49 with 5:23 to play, UNLV began chipping away.
Kevin Kruger and Michael Umeh combined for 13 points during a 17-4 run that got the Runnin’ Rebels (30-7) within 70-66 with 50.2 seconds to play. But Porter hit 2-of-3 from the line in the final 41 seconds and UNLV’s Joe Darger missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to go.
NORTH CAROLINA 74, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 64 at East Rutherford, N.J.: Brandan Wright and the top-seeded Tar Heels almost waited too long to make their move.
Down by 16 points early in the second half, the Tar Heels suddenly shifted into another gear and defeated the Trojans in the East Regional semifinals.
Despite off-games by Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, the Tar Heels (31-6) saved themselves and set up a regional final for college basketball fans to savor: North Carolina vs. Georgetown, a rematch of the 1982 championship game that Michael Jordan won in the closing seconds.
Fifth-seeded USC (25-12) was putting on a dunking exhibition and led 49-33 with 17:42 left before it all fell apart.
