2006–07 Florida Gators men's basketball team

2006–07 Florida Gators men's basketball
SEC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, National Champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
2006–07 record	35–5 (13–3 SEC)
Head coach	Billy Donovan
Assistant coach	Donnie Jones Lewis Preston Larry Shyatt
Home arena	O'Connell Center

2006 Florida Gator Midnight Madness celebration

Left: Corey Brewer dunk exhibition. Right: Sha Brooks and Joakim Noah co-ed 3-point shootout.

The 2006–07 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2006–07 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

The Gators were looking to repeat as national champions. The Gators finished the season with a 26–5 record entering the SEC Championship. They won all three games and received the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.^[1] They raced through the tournament and reached the final against Ohio State. They beat them 84–75 to become the first team since Duke in 1992 to repeat as National Champions.^[2]

Class of 2006

^[3]^[4]^[5]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jonathan Mitchell PF	Mount Vernon, New York	Mt. Vernon HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Oct 9, 2005
Jonathan Mitchell PF	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Brandon Powell SG	Memphis, Tennessee	Mitchell Road HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 24, 2005
Brandon Powell SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Marreese Speights C	Chatham, Virginia	Hargrave Military Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	May 14, 2005
Marreese Speights C	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Dan Werner PF	Lincroft, New Jersey	Christian Brothers Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jun 17, 2006
Dan Werner PF	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Overall Recruiting Rankings:' Scout – 22 Rivals – 20 ^[6] ESPN – '

Roster

Name	Number	Position	Height	Weight	Class	Hometown
Jack Berry	23	G	6–6	215	Junior	Windermere, Florida
Corey Brewer	2	F	6–9	185	Junior	Portland, Tennessee
Taurean Green	11	G	6–0	177	Junior	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Walter Hodge	15	G	6–0	170	Sophomore	Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Al Horford	42	F/C	6–10	245	Junior	Grand Ledge, Michigan
Lee Humphrey	12	G	6–2	192	Senior	Maryville, Tennessee
Jonathan Mitchell	0	F	6–7	243	Sophomore	Mount Vernon, New York
Joakim Noah	13	F/C	6–11	230	Junior	New York, New York
Brandon Powell	3	G	6–3	187	Freshman	Memphis, Tennessee
Chris Richard	32	F/C	6–9	255	Senior	Lakeland, Florida
Marreese Speights	34	F/C	6–10	245	Freshman	St. Petersburg, Florida
Brett Swanson	1	G	6–2	180	Senior	Pace, Florida
Garrett Tyler	25	G/F	6–7	200	Junior	Palm Harbor, Florida
Dan Werner	21	F	6–7	235	Freshman	Middletown, New Jersey

Coaches

Name	Type	College	Graduating year
Billy Donovan	Head Coach	Providence College	1987
Donnie Jones	Associate Head Coach	Pikeville College	1988
Larry Shyatt	Assistant Coach	College of Wooster	1973
Lewis Preston	Assistant Coach	Virginia Military Institute	1993
Darren Hertz	Assistant to the Head Coach	University of Florida	1997
Adam Beaupre	Video Coordinator	University of Florida	1999
Matt Herring	Strength & Conditioning Coordinator	University of Texas Southwestern	1994
Dave Werner	Athletic Trainer	Eastern Kentucky University	1991
Tom Williams	Academic Counselor

Schedule and results

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site City, State
Exhibition
November 2, 2006* 7:00 PM	No. 1	Northwood College	W 70-41		O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 5, 2006* 3:30 PM	No. 1	Barry University	W 83-47		O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
Regular season
November 10, 2006* 8:00 PM, SUN	No. 1	Samford University	W 79-54	1-0	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 14, 2006* 7:00 PM, SUN	No. 1	North Florida	W 86-40	2-0	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 16, 2006* 7:00 PM, SUN	No. 1	Jacksonville	W 90-61	3-0	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 18, 2006* 7:00 PM, FSN	No. 1	Tennessee-Chattanooga	W 93-44	4-0	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 21, 2006* 7:30 PM, SUN	No. 1	Prairie View A&M	W 94-33	5-0	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
November 24, 2006* 10:30 PM, SUN	No. 1	vs. Western Kentucky	W 101-68	6-0	Orleans Arena Paradise, NV
November 25, 2006* 11:00 PM, ESPN2	No. 1	vs. No. 12 Kansas	L 80-82 ^OT	6-1	Orleans Arena Paradise, NV
November 28, 2006* 7:00 PM, FSN	No. 4	Southern	W 83-27	7-1	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
December 3, 2006* 7:30 PM, FSN	No. 4	at Florida State	L 66-70	7-2	Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL
December 6, 2006* 7:00 PM, FSN	No. 7	Providence	W 85-67	8-2	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
December 17, 2006* 6:00 PM, SUN	No. 5	vs. Florida A&M	W 72-57	9-2	St. Pete Times Forum Tampa, FL
December 20, 2006* 7:00 PM, SUN	No. 4	Stetson	W 88-67	10-2	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
December 23, 2006* 4:00 PM, CBS	No. 4	No. 3 Ohio State	W 86-60	11-2	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
December 30, 2006* 6:30 PM, FSN	No. 3	vs. UAB	W 75-70	12-2	BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL
January 2, 2007* 6:00 PM, SUN	No. 3	Liberty	W 89-58	13-2	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
January 6, 2007 12:00 PM, LFS	No. 3	Georgia	W 67-51	14-2 (1-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
January 9, 2007 7:00 PM, ESPN	No. 2	Arkansas	W 79-72	15-2 (2-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
January 13, 2007 1:00 PM, LFS	No. 2	at South Carolina	W 84-50	16-2 (3-0)	Colonial Center Columbia, SC
January 20, 2007 1:00 PM, LFS	No. 1	Ole Miss	W 79-70	17-2 (4-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
January 24, 2007 9:00 PM, LFS	No. 1	at Mississippi State	W 70-67	18-2 (5-0)	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
January 27, 2007 5:00 PM, FSN	No. 1	at Auburn	W 91-66	19-2 (6-0)	Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
January 31, 2007 7:00 PM, LFS	No. 1	Vanderbilt	W 74-64	20-2 (7-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
February 3, 2007 3:00 PM, LFS	No. 1	Tennessee	W 94-78	21-2 (8-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
February 7, 2007 7:30 PM, SUN	No. 1	at Georgia	W 71-61	22-2 (9-0)	Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
February 10, 2007 9:00 PM, ESPN	No. 1	at No. 18 Kentucky	W 64-61	23-2 (10-0)	Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 14, 2007 8:00 PM, LFS	No. 1	Alabama	W 76-67	24-2 (11-0)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
February 17, 2007 1:00 PM, CBS	No. 1	at Vanderbilt	L 70-83	24-3 (11-1)	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN
February 21, 2007 8:00 PM, LFS	No. 3	South Carolina	W 63-49	25-3 (12-1)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
February 24, 2007 4:00 PM, CBS	No. 3	at LSU	L 56-66	25-4 (12-2)	Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA
February 27, 2007 9:00 PM, ESPN	No. 4	at Tennessee	L 76-86	25-5 (12-3)	Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
March 4, 2007 12:00 PM, CBS	No. 4	Kentucky	W 85-72	26-5 (13-3)	O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
SEC Tournament
March 9, 2007 7:30 PM, CBS	No. 6	vs. Georgia SEC Championship round 2	W 74-57	27-5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
March 10, 2007 3:14 PM, CBS	No. 6	vs. Ole Miss SEC Championship round 3	W 80-59	28-5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
March 11, 2007 1:00 PM, CBS	No. 6	vs. Arkansas SEC Championship game	W 77-56	29-5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
NCAA Division I Tournament
March 16, 2007 10:05 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 16 Jackson State First round	W 112-69	30-5	New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA
March 18, 2007 2:15 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 9 Purdue Second round	W 74-67	31-5	New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA
March 23, 2007 7:10 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 5 Butler Sweet Sixteen	W 65-57	32-5	Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, MO
March 25, 2007 2:40 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 3 Oregon Elite Eight	W 85-77	33-5	Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, MO
March 31, 2007 8:47 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 2 UCLA Final Four	W 76-66	34-5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
April 2, 2007 9:21 PM, CBS	No. 1	vs. No. 1 Ohio State National Championship Game	W 84-75	35-5	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Ranking Movement
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	3	3	5	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	5	1
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	7	5	4	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	6	1

Regular season

The Gators started the regular season trying to repeat as National Champions. They returned all five starters since none of them decided to go into the NBA early. They won their first few games, then they lost to Kansas in Las Vegas. On December 13, Junior Al Horford injured his ankle in practice,^[7] and missed a few games in December. Horford however, was able to play against Ohio State, on December 23. The Ohio State-Florida game was a high anticipated match-up, featuring 3 of the top big men in the country(Horford, Joakim Noah, and Greg Oden). The Gators held Oden to 7 points and went on to win 86–60. The Gators entered SEC play with a 13–2 record. They started out dominating the SEC. With a 12–0 SEC record the Gators headed to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. They had 17 straight wins, close to a school record, when they lost to Vanderbilt 70–83.^[8]

Accomplishments

Then longest winning streak in school history – 18 games (3 times) (2005/6, 2006/7, since broken by 2013-14 Gators)
Consecutive 20 + win seasons – 9 years in a row (1998/9-2006/7)
The most wins in school history prior to NCAA tournament – 29 (2006/7)
The most wins in a season in school history – 35 (2006/7)
Combined 68–11 record over two years (2005/6 – 2006/7)
Led nation in field goal percentage (2005/6, 2006/7)
All 5 starters with positive assists/turnover ratio (2005/6, 2006/7)
All 5 starters with 1,000 + career points scored (2006/7)
2nd out-right SEC regular season championship (2006/7)
Consecutive SEC tournament championships – 3 years in a row (2004/5–2006/7)
Consecutive SEC tournament title games – 4 years in a row (2003/4–2006/7)
SEC record 6 consecutive wins over Kentucky Wildcats (2004/5-2006/7)
Consecutive appearances in NCAA tournament – 9 years in a row (1998/9–2006/7)
Two consecutive appearances in NCAA Final Four (2005/6, 2006/7)
First NCAA national championship (2005/6)
Second NCAA national championship (2006/7)
Highest seed (#1) ever in NCAA tournament (2006/7)
One of 3 teams (UF, Duke, Kansas ) to be #6 seed or higher 9 years in a row
Champs of Coaches vs. Cancer Classic tournament in Madison Sq. Garden (2005/6)
Coaches vs. Cancer Classic MVP – Green (2005/6)
SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year – Brewer (2005/6)
SEC 6th Man of the Year – Richard (2006/7)
SEC tournament MVP – Green (2005/6)
SEC tournament team – Green, Brewer (2005/6)
SEC tournament MVP – Horford (2006/7)
SEC tournament team – Horford, Noah, Brewer, Green (2006/7)
Never trailed in all 3 SEC tournament games
3 SEC Players of the Week – Green and Noah (twice) (2005/6)
2 SEC Players of the Week – Humphrey and Brewer (2006/7)
SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year – Humphrey (twice)
ESPN First Team Academic All-American – Humphrey
NCAA Minneapolis Regional MVP – Noah (2005/6)
NCAA Minneapolis Regional All-Regional Team – Noah, Green, Horford (2005/6)
NCAA Final Four MOP – Noah (2005/6)
First player with 4 or more blocks in all 6 NCAA Tournament games – Noah (2005/6)
NCAA tournament individual record 29 blocks – Noah (2005/6)
NCAA Final Four individual record 10 blocks – Noah (2005/6)
NCAA Championship Game individual record 6 blocks – Noah (2005/6)
NCAA tournament 2nd place team record 44 blocks (2005/6)
3rd youngest coach to win NCAA title – Coach Donovan (2005/6)
First team since UCLA in 1968 to win both Final Four games by 15+ points (2005/6)
NCAA Midwest Regional MVP – Green (2006/7)
NCAA Midwest Regional All-Regional Team – Green, Humphrey (2006/7)
NCAA Tournament record + 43 (62–19) rebound margin vs Jackson St (2006/6)
NCAA Final Four MOP – Brewer (2006/7)
NCAA Final Four record 17 rebounds vs. UCLA – Horford (2006/7)
84.6% shooting percentage in NCAA tournament – Richard (2006/7) (better than Laettner's 78.8% in 1989, but not enough shots to hold record)
NCAA Tournament career record 47 3-point shots – Humphrey (2003/4-2006/7)
NCAA Tournament career 4th place 41 blocked shots – Noah (2004/5-2006/7)
First team since Duke (91–92) to win back-to-back NCAA titles (2005/6-2006/7)
First group of 5 starters to win back-to-back NCAA titles (2005/6-2006/7)
2nd most consecutive NCAA tournament wins (12) since expansion (2005/6-2006/7)
Never trailed in second half of 4 Final Four games (2005/6-2006/7)
Average scoring margin of +12.5 points in 4 Final Four games (2005/6-2006/7)
Average scoring margin of +15.1 points in 12 NCAA T games (2005/6-2006/7)
School record 37 consecutive foul shots – Green (2005/6)
School record 113 3-point shots in a season – Humphrey (2005/6, 2006/7)
School record 39 consecutive games with 3-point shot – Humphrey (2006/7)
School record only triple double – Brewer (2005/6)[/COLOR]
School record 288 career 3-point shots – Humphrey (2003/4-2006/7)
School record 112 career wins – Humphrey, Richard (2003/4-2006/7
School record 141 career games played – Richard (2003/4-2006/7)
School record 261 career wins – Coach Donovan (1995/6-2006/7)
School record 22 career NCAA tournament wins – Coach Donovan [/COLOR]
School record 112 points scored in a tournament game – UF vs Jackson St. (2006/7)
School record 71 points scored in a half – UF vs Jackson St., 2nd half (2006/7)
School record 9 assists in a half – Taurean Green, UF vs Jackson St., 2nd half (2006/7)
School record 62–19 rebounding margin – UF vs Jackson St. (2006/7)
School record most points in NCAA tournament career – Brewer (2006/7)
18 post-season wins in a row (2005/6-2006/7)
22–1 post-season record in the last three years (2004/5-2006/7)
14 consecutive wins in a dome, including national semis and finals (2004/5-2006/6)
19 consecutive wins in the O'Connell Center
NBA Draft record, with three players in Top 9 selections

References

Florida Gators men's basketball

Venues	University Gymnasium (1919–1927) New Gymasium (1927–1949) Florida Gymnasium (1949–1980) Stephen C. O'Connell Center (1980–present)

Rivalries	Florida State Kentucky

Culture & lore	Dazzlers

People	Head coaches NBA players UF Athletic Hall of Fame

Seasons	1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Florida Gators Men's Basketball 2006–07 NCAA Champions

2 Corey Brewer (MOP) 11 Taurean Green 12 Lee Humphrey 13 Joakim Noah 15 Walter Hodge 21 Dan Werner 32 Chris Richard 34 Marreese Speights 42 Al Horford Head coach Billy Donovan Assistant coaches Donnie Jones Lewis Preston Larry Shyatt

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball champions

1939: Oregon
1940: Indiana
1941: Wisconsin
1942: Stanford
1943: Wyoming
1944: Utah
1945: Oklahoma A&M
1946: Oklahoma A&M
1947: Holy Cross
1948: Kentucky
1949: Kentucky
1950: CCNY
1951: Kentucky
1952: Kansas
1953: Indiana
1954: La Salle
1955: San Francisco
1956: San Francisco
1957: North Carolina
1958: Kentucky
1959: California
1960: Ohio State
1961: Cincinnati
1962: Cincinnati
1963: Loyola (IL)
1964: UCLA
1965: UCLA
1966: Texas Western
1967: UCLA
1968: UCLA
1969: UCLA
1970: UCLA
1971: UCLA
1972: UCLA
1973: UCLA
1974: NC State
1975: UCLA
1976: Indiana
1977: Marquette
1978: Kentucky
1979: Michigan State
1980: Louisville
1981: Indiana
1982: North Carolina
1983: NC State
1984: Georgetown
1985: Villanova
1986: Louisville
1987: Indiana
1988: Kansas
1989: Michigan
1990: UNLV
1991: Duke
1992: Duke
1993: North Carolina
1994: Arkansas
1995: UCLA
1996: Kentucky
1997: Arizona
1998: Kentucky
1999: Connecticut
2000: Michigan State
2001: Duke
2002: Maryland
2003: Syracuse
2004: Connecticut
2005: North Carolina
2006: Florida
2007: Florida
2008: Kansas
2009: North Carolina
2010: Duke
2011: Connecticut
2012: Kentucky
2013: Louisville
2014: Connecticut
2015: Duke
2016: Villanova

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.