Times staff
Friday, March 25, 2011
Florida vs. Butler: A little history
Florida and Butler have faced each other twice in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators winning both and eventually advancing to the title game:
Winston-Salem, N.C., 2000: Florida and Butler had one of the most memorable NCAA first-round games. No. 12 Butler led by one with 8.1 seconds left in overtime when LaVall Jordan, an 83.1 percent free-throw shooter, stepped to the line for the Bulldogs. He missed both, and Mike Miller hit a runner in the lane at the buzzer to win it, 69-68, for the No. 5 seed Gators. Officials used replay, a rule that was added at midseason, to confirm the winner. Florida eventually made it all the way to its first national championship game, losing to Michigan State.
St. Louis, 2007: The top-seeded Gators trailed undersized and No. 5 Butler by as many as nine. The Gators rallied to tie the score at 54 with three minutes left, then rode the play of center Al Horford to a 65-57 victory and a berth in the Midwest Region final. The Gators eventually won their second straight national championship, the first team since Duke in 1992 to repeat as champions.