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Defending champ Florida draws Jackson State in first round

Mar 16, 2007 - 1:54 PM Jackson St (21-13) at Florida (29-5) 9:50 pm EDT

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Florida starts defense of its national championship on a roll.

The Gators (29-5), the top seed in the Midwest Region, will take on Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament champion Jackson State in the first round Friday.

Florida enters the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year as the Southeastern Conference tournament champion. It is the Gators' ninth consecutive NCAA appearance after reaching the event just five times prior to head coach Billy Donovan's arrival.

The Gators, who return all five starters from last season, lead the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 52.7 percent from the floor.

Juniors Al Horford and Joakim Noah combine for 25.3 points, 17.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. The two have combined for 81 rebounds in the last four games. Horford was named SEC Tournament MVP after averaging 14 points and 11.3 rebounds in Atlanta. He is averaging 14.6 points and 9.9 rebounds with four double-doubles in the last nine games.

Sharpshooter Lee Humphrey became the fifth Gator to reach 1,000 points for his career in the SEC title game. Corey Brewer, Taurean Green, Noah and Horford have all accomplished the same feat within the last five weeks. Humphrey has tied the school record with 33 straight games with at least one 3-pointer.

Florida has been a top-five seed eight for straight years but this is its first No. 1 seed.

Jackson State (21-13) earned an automatic berth to the NCAAs with an 81-71 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the SWAC championship game.

SWAC Player of the Year Trey Johnson, the nation's second-leading scorer, scored 33 points in the victory.

The Tigers led the SWAC in scoring offense at 71.1 points per game.

The Tigers will be making their second trip to the "Big Dance" and first since 2000, when they lost to Arizona in the first round. They are 0-2 all-time in the NCAAs.

The winner will face either eighth-seeded Arizona or ninth-seeded Purdue in the second round.