The Gators Beat The Buckeyes....Again

I think it's become pretty clear that the Florida Gators were far and away the best basketball team in the country this season. It was debatable when they lost a few games in February, but all questions have been answered over the last month.

Ohio State really was the second-best team in the country, but the disparity between it and Florida last night was obvious. When you have four players the caliber of Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Taurean Green you're going to be damn good. Throw in Lee Humphrey and his deadly long range accuracy, and it's just not fair.

I'm not going to overanalyze last night's game. Florida pretty much had it in hand from the opening tip, and even though the Buckeyes were staying in range, I never really got the feeling they were going to make a run at it.

Of course, a couple of made three-pointers here and there wouldn't have hurt.

To me, the funniest thing about all of this was Greg Oden. He spent most of this tournament on the bench in foul trouble, but the Buckeyes kept winning. He had the game of the tournament last night, 25 points and 12 rebounds, and they lost.

I'm not saying that it's Oden's fault. I'm just pointing out how important Mike Conley, Jr. is to the success of OSU. With Conley struggling to get anything going thanks to foul trouble of his own, it affected the entire Buckeyes team.

Now the questions turn to next season.

It's doubtful the Gators will be returning any starters next season, especially if Billy Donovan leaves for Kentucky.

With the Buckeyes, I'm pretty sure Oden is going to go pro, but I'm hoping he doesn't. I'd like both Oden and Conley to stick around in Columbus for one more season. Another year of Oden developing his offensive game, combined with the flat-out brilliance of Conley at times, could be something very special to watch next season, and I'd like to see it.

Oh, and here's hoping that Al Horford is still on the board when the Bulls make their pick in this summer's draft.