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Florida looks to continue title quest vs. pesky Butler

Mar 23, 2007 - 1:43 PM No. 5 Butler (29-6) vs. No. 1 Florida (31-5) Friday 7:10 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Al Horford and Florida entered the NCAA Tournament as the favorite. That will not change against one of the nation's top "mid-major" darlings.

Horford and top-seeded Florida will look to continue their quest toward a second straight national championship when they face No. 5 Butler in the semifinals of the Midwest Region on Friday.

With a ninth consecutive win in the NCAAs, the Gators (31-5) would advance to face either third-seeded Oregon or No. 7 UNLV in Sunday's regional final.

However, before Florida thinks about a third appearance in the "Elite Eight" since 2000, it will have to deal with a club that has more than exceeded expectations this season, winning the NIT Season Tip-Off and being ranked in the national polls for much of the season.

"There's a lot to get ready for in playing Butler," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "They're a terrific team, a team that's had a great year. They've fought all season long, they've played against a high-level of competition at the beginning of the season, they play in a good league and they've certainly been able to win two very good games in the NCAA Tournament."

The Bulldogs now have a chance to accomplish something else not expected of them by going deeper in the NCAAs than they have ever done before, previously reaching the regional semifinals as a No. 12 seed in 2003 before losing to Oklahoma.

It will be a major task, though, as Florida enters the matchup coming off a pair of solid wins, including a 74-67 victory over Purdue on Sunday.

Although the Gators were unable to completely shake the physical Boilermakers, Horford displayed the team's strength inside, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds.

"I like playing physical games," the junior forward said. "I can adjust to any game I have to play, but it's going to be a grind from now on."

It is that similarity to a heavyweight fight that gives Florida the edge against Butler, a team known more for its 3-point shooting than its ability to bang inside.

Yet, leading scorer A.J. Graves and the Bulldogs have not backed down from bigger and stronger teams this season, handing Notre Dame, Tennessee and Gonzaga losses earlier this season.

"They're one of those programs where people like to talk about major, mid-major programs, but there are programs out there like Gonzaga, like Butler, that have gone out and done it so many years outside of their conference that I don't think can be considered that weak," Donovan said. "I have a lot of respect for them and I think there's a lot of national notoriety for the program right now because of what they can do in non-conference play."

That also appeared to be the case in Butler's previous victory, a 62-59 victory over Maryland on Saturday. Graves scored 19 points and Brandon Crone added 13 as the Bulldogs overcame a 36-21 disadvantage in rebounds by shooting 46 percent (12-of-26) on 3-pointers.

This is not the first meeting in the NCAA Tournament for both teams, with then-No. 5 seed Florida squeaking past Butler for a 69-68 first-round victory in overtime in 2000 on a last-second shot by Mike Miller.

"It was a great basketball game," Donovan said. "It went back and forth. We had the last shot, though, and luckily we were able to make it."