Florida (32-6) vs. UCLA (32-6)
TV/radio: 8:21 p.m., WBBM-Ch. 2, WMVP-AM 1000.
Line: Florida by 1 1/2.
How Florida got here: Beat South Florida 76-50, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82-60, Georgetown 57-53, Villanova 75-62, George Mason 73-58.
How UCLA got here: Beat Belmont 78-44, Alabama 62-59, Gonzaga 73-71, Memphis 50-45, LSU 59-45.
The buzz: UCLA coach Ben Howland, who left Pitt after the 2002-03 season to take over the Bruins, has injected them with vials of Big East blood. That means they are guided by heady guards, in this case Jordan Farmar and Arron Affalo, and blanket foes with a nasty defense. But Florida too can play some defense, which it anchors with shot-blockers Al Horford and Joakim Noah. Which team finds a way to break down the other’s defense will determine who walks away with the title Monday night.
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FLA TEAM STATS UCLA
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32-6 RECORDS 32-6
2979 SCORING 2585
78.4 Pts per game 68.0
63.7 Opp. pts per gm 58.3
+14.7 Scoring margin +9.9
1035-2062 FG-ATT 917-1926
.502 Field goal pct .476
42.6 Opp. FG pct. 46.8
283-719 3 POINT FG-ATT 233-665
.394 3-point FG pct .350
32.1 Opp. 3-pt FG pct. 32.9
7.5 3-pt FG, gm 6.0
626-842 FT-ATT 518-750
.744 Free throw pct .691
66.4 Opp. FT pct. 69.9
1363 REBOUNDS 1263
35.9 Rebound, gm 33.2
+3.7 Rebound margin +4.6
629 ASSISTS 530
16.6 ASSISTS, GAME 13.9
555 TURNOVERS 550
14.6 TURNOVERS, GAME 14.5
+1.1 TURNOVER MARGIN +0.1
1.2 AST/TO RATIO 1.0
290 STEALS 221
7.6 STEALS, GAME 5.8
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197 BLOCKS 110
5.2 BLOCKS, GAME 2.9
10 WIN STREAK 12
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