Florida – Ohio State

Round 1 that is.

The National Champion Gators (and I CAN say that in this case) are playing Ohio State this Saturday in an almost-too-good-to-be-true pre BCS Title Game match up. Of course, it is basketball I am talking about, and as a first year basketball booster, I am making the trip to Gainesville to see the game.

The level of excitement of this game is definitely elevated by the game on January 8th. Plus, I can readily imagine the media framing this game as a possible “prelude” to the NCAA basketball national title game.

While it is always great to see the Gator hoopsters play, I have to admit that I am very interested to see the Buckeye’s Greg Oden in person. Oden is listed as 7 feet tall, and 280 pounds. In other words, although Joakim Noah gives only an inch to Oden at 6’11”, he is 48 pounds lighter.

I had the chance to see Shaq play in while he was in college, and even then, you knew he was going to be something very special. You get the same feeling with Oden, who the pundits say would have been the 1st pick in this year’s draft had the NBA not changed the rules making 18 year olds ineligible for the draft.

It will also be very interesting to see what Billy D has planned for this game. When Cincinnati got stomped by OSU on December 16, their players were essentially afraid to go into the paint because of Oden. When their perimeter game failed, it was over. Hopefully, Humphrey and the other shooters can keep Florida in the game if the big fellows have trouble with Oden.

It should be a great game. Go Gators!