2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State entered the South region of the tournament as the No. 1 seed. In the first round, Greg Oden had a double-double to beat Central Connecticut State 78–57. In the second round, Ohio State overcame a late deficit for a 78–71 overtime win over Xavier. In the Sweet 16, Oden blocked a last second shot by Ramar Smith to beat Tennessee 85–84. In the Elite Eight, Ohio State used Oden's 17 points to beat Memphis 92–76 for a trip to the Final Four. In the Final Four, Oden's 13 points were six points short of Roy Hibbert's 19 points but it was Ohio State who got the victory beating Georgetown 67–60 for a trip to the National Championship Game for the first time since 1962. Florida Gators Defending champion Florida entered the tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. In the first round, Florida played a dominant second half against Jackson State outscoring them 71–34 in the 2nd half to take a 112–69 win. In the second round, Florida beat Purdue 74–67 to stay alive in their quest for a 2nd straight national title. In the Sweet 16, Florida took another step closer to becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since the 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils with a 65–57 win over Butler. In the Elite Eight, Florida beat Oregon 85–77 to advance to the Final Four. In the national semi-final, Florida beat UCLA 76–66 to advance to the championship game. ==Starting lineups==

In a rematch of a regular season meeting which had been won 86–60 by Florida in Gainesville, the Gators survived 25 points and 12 rebounds from Buckeyes center Greg Oden with stellar play from guards Lee Humphrey and Taurean Green with inside contributions coming from Al Horford (18 points) and tourney Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer. Billy Donovan became the third-youngest coach (at age 41) to win two titles. Only Bob Knight (at Indiana) and San Francisco's Phil Woolpert both won two titles at the age of 40. The Gators are the first team ever to hold the NCAA Division I college football and basketball titles in the same academic year (2006–07) and calendar year (2006 and 2007). Coincidentally, Florida also beat Ohio State (by a score of 41–14) in the College Football Championship, the first time in college sports history that identical match-ups and results have occurred in both football and basketball championships. This was also the first time in NCAA D-I men's basketball history that exactly the same starting five were able to win back-to-back titles (Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Lee Humphrey, Al Horford, Taurean Green). Florida's Lee Humphrey also set the all-time NCAA Tournament record for three-point field goals made with 47. Humphrey surpassed Bobby Hurley's record of 42. With the loss to Florida, Ohio State's record in the national championship game fell to 1–4. ==References==