OH, MY!! GATORS REACH FINAL FOUR!!

The University of Florida Gators, ranked 10th in the nation and seeded third in the Minneapolis Region, last night became regional champs and moved into the coveted Final Four in the NCAA Tournament by defeating No. 4 ranked and top seeded Villanova by a score of 75-62!

WHAT A DAY FOR THE GATOR NATION!!

Villanova, the fourth Number One seed to be sent packing, experiences just their fifth loss for the season.

Gators shot 41% from the field, Wildcats just 25%. 'Nova's vaulted three-point game was shut down (4of 23). Gators were 87% from the charity stripe, Nova 81%. Wildcats held a deficit of 13 in the rebound category. The Gator Bigs were just too much for them.

The last time the final four lacked a top seed was 1980.

In our opinion the turning point in the game was a Technical Foul committed by a Wildcat.

Villanova led early in the first quarter, with no less than nine lead changes in the first few minutes. With the Gators leading 15-14, a wildcat started talking trash to Walter Hodge, then gently but derisively , bounced the ball off Hodge's head. The Gators promptly went on a 7-0 run and never looked back, leading the entire game, by as much as 12 in the first half which ended 35-30 with a +198 Lead Advantage for the Rowdy Reptiles. Would the Gators have won anyway? I think so. But I also think this little incident, forgotten by all media members sealed the Wildcat's fate.

The Gators ended up with a 13 point win and a whopping LA of +623. GAtors are 4-0 against the Big East.