25 Cheers for 25 Years: Florida wins first national title in Basketball

The Florida Gators celebrate with the trophy after defeating the UCLA Bruins 73-57 during the National Championship game of the NCAA Men's Final Four on April 3, 2006 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Florida’s run to the 2006 NCAA basketball championship was as unlikely as it was magical. Entering the season, Billy Donovan’s Gators were unranked and largely overlooked.

The program had lost its top three scorers from the previous year and was turning to a sophomore-dominated core known as the “Oh-Fours” – a nickname for the four members of the 2004 recruiting class: Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Taurean Green​.

The young group lacked experience, but they had a whole lot of heart and played for each other.

“We would share the ball. We didn’t care who scored. We didn’t care who shot. We just cared about getting the best look… We all had that confidence in each other,” Brewer said of the team’s selfless mindset​.

That unselfish approach, combined with the emerging talent of the team, sent Florida on a season-long journey that ended in the school’s first-ever men’s basketball national title.

The Gators put the nation on by starting 17–0 and capturing the SEC regular-season co-championship.

A short midseason stumble (three losses in February) lowered expectations, but like all of the best teams, Donovan’s squad found its groove again in March.

Florida secured the SEC Tournament crown with an ugly 49–47 victory over South Carolina in the final, then rode that momentum into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed.

Led by the 6-foot-11 Noah’s infectious energy and Horford’s steady post presence, the Gators ran through their side of the bracket.

The only hiccup came in the Sweet Sixteen against Georgetown. The stifling Hoya’s defense bothered the Gators, but Brewer made a twisting falling down shot which became a three-point play with 27.5 seconds remaining to win the game.

Florida wouldn’t play a close game again.

The team smacked top-seeded Villanova 75-62 in the Elite Eight before decimating Cinderella George Mason 73-58 in the Final Four.

That set up a championship showdown with UCLA, a blue-blood seeking its 12th national title​.

On April 3, 2006 in Indianapolis, Florida played with poise beyond its years and dominated UCLA 73–57 to cut down the nets​.

The Gators’ defense smothered the Bruins, while moving the ball well on offense, bothering UCLA’s top ranked defense.

Sophomore center Joakim Noah turned in a performance for the ages, tallying 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks in the title game​. His six blocked shots set a championship-game record​ and symbolized Florida’s superior length and athleticism.

“He’s really long, and he doesn’t go for shot fakes,” observed UCLA’s Jordan Farmar, who struggled to score with Noah protecting the rim​.

Noah was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Horford (14 points, 7 rebounds in the final), Brewer (hit two clutch three-pointers and played great defense), and Green (16 points and 8 assists) all delivered when the lights were brightest.

When the final buzzer sounded, Florida had its first national championship in men’s basketball history​. In just two years on campus, the “Oh Fours” had taken the Gators to the top of college basketball.