Wikipedia

2006–07 Florida Gators men's basketball team

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.

2006–07 Florida Gators men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
SEC tournament champions
SEC regular season champions
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 3
Record35–5 (13–3 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coachDonnie Jones
Lewis Preston
Larry Shyatt
Home arenaO'Connell Center
Seasons
2006–07 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 3 Florida † 13 – 3   .813 35 – 5   .875
Vanderbilt 10 – 6   .625 22 – 12   .647
No. 25 Tennessee 10 – 6   .625 24 – 11   .686
Kentucky 9 – 7   .563 22 – 12   .647
Georgia 8 – 8   .500 19 – 14   .576
South Carolina 4 – 12   .250 14 – 16   .467
West
Mississippi State 8 – 8   .500 21 – 13   .618
Ole Miss 8 – 8   .500 21 – 14   .600
Arkansas 7 – 9   .438 21 – 14   .600
Auburn 7 – 9   .438 17 – 14   .548
Alabama 7 – 9   .438 20 – 12   .625
LSU 5 – 11   .313 17 – 15   .531
† 2007 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
2006 Florida Gator Midnight Madness celebration
Left: Corey Brewer dunk exhibition. Right: Sha Brooks and Joakim Noah co-ed 3-point shootout.

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 played in the National Championship game against Ohio State. They beat them 84–75 to become the first team since Duke in 1992 to repeat as National Champions, a feat that would not be accomplished again until UConn in 2024.[2]

Class of 2006

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[3][4][5]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Greg Elder
SF 		Birmingham, Alabama A.H. Parker High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Oct 19, 2005 
Star ratings: 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 
Star ratings: 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 
Star ratings: 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 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Overall Recruiting Rankings:     Scout – 22     Rivals – 20 [6]     ESPN –

Roster

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

Coaches

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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

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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
ESPN College GameDay 		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 		(1) No. 3 vs. (16) Jackson State
First round 		W 112–69  30–5
 New Orleans Arena 
New Orleans, LA
March 18, 2007
2:15 pm, CBS 		(1) No. 3 vs. (9) Purdue
Second round 		W 74–67  31–5
 New Orleans Arena 
New Orleans, LA
March 23, 2007
7:10 pm, CBS 		(1) No. 3 vs. (5) No. 21 Butler
Sweet Sixteen 		W 65–57  32–5
 Edward Jones Dome 
St. Louis, MO
March 25, 2007
2:40 pm, CBS 		(1) No. 3 vs. (3) No. 10 Oregon
Elite Eight 		W 85–77  33–5
 Edward Jones Dome 
St. Louis, MO
March 31, 2007
8:47 pm, CBS 		(1) No. 3 vs. (2) No. 7 UCLA
Final Four 		W 76–66  34–5
 Georgia Dome 
Atlanta, GA
April 2, 2007
9:21 pm, CBS 		(1) No. 3 vs. (1) 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.

Rankings

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See also: 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP1 (63)1 (65)1 (66)4 (3)7т55332 (3)1 (43)1 (42)1 (45)1 (72)1 (72)3 (4)563Not released
Coaches1 (30)1 (30)1 (30)4 (2)754332 (2)1 (23)1 (23)1 (26)1 (30)1 (31)3 (1)4631

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.

Regular season

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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 highly anticipated match-up, featuring three 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

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  • 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)
  • Then the most wins in school history prior to NCAA tournament – 29 (2006/7, since broken by 2013-14 Gators)
  • Then the most wins in a season in school history – 35 (2006/7, since broken by 2013-14 Gators)
  • 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]
  • Then school record 288 career 3-point shots – Humphrey (2003/4-2006/7, since broken by Kenny Boynton from 2009/10-2012/3)
  • 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

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  1. ^ The Brandon Show » Article » U-WIRE COLLEGE SPORTS: Gators earn NCAA top seed (U. Florida)
  2. ^ ESPN – Ohio State vs. Florida – Recap – April 02, 2007
  3. ^ Florida Class of 2006 – Rivals
  4. ^ Florida Class of 2006 – Scout
  5. ^ Florida Class of 2006 – ESPN
  6. ^ "2006 Team Recruiting Rankings – Rivals". Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  7. ^ Gator Report | tampabay.com – St. Petersburg Times and tbt*: Archives
  8. ^ ESPN – Florida vs. Vanderbilt – Recap – February 17, 2007
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