NCAA Game Summary - Florida vs. Villanova
03.26.2006
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Minneapolis, MN (Basketball News) - Joakim Noah scored 21 points and Taurean Green added 19, as Florida advanced to the Final Four with a 75-62 victory over Villanova in the Minneapolis regional final of the NCAA Tournament at the Metrodome.
Noah added 15 rebounds for the Gators (31-6), who reached the Final Four for the first time since a trip to the championship game in 2000. Florida hadn’t made it out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament since that run and will next face George Mason in the national semifinals on Saturday in Indianapolis.
George Mason stunned top-seeded Connecticut in the Washington, DC regional final earlier Sunday.
Villanova (28-5) still hasn’t reached the Final Four since its miracle championship in 1985. The top-seeded Wildcats got 25 points from Randy Foye in defeat, but Allan Ray managed only 11 and Kyle Lowry was plagued by foul trouble and finished with just three.
With Connecticut joining Villanova as losers on Sunday, the Final Four will be without a top seed for the first time since 1980.
The other national semifinal next weekend will pit LSU, a fourth seed out of the Atlanta region, against UCLA, the second seed out of the Oakland bracket. Saturday’s winners will then meet for the championship on Monday.
