Senior guard Lee
Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) led a quartet of Gators in double
figures with 23 points, propelling the top-seeded University of Florida men’s
basketball team to an 85-77 victory over No. 3 seed Oregon on Sunday in the
Midwest regional final of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. With the victory, UF earned
its second-consecutive Final Four berth, and the fourth in school history.
Humphrey made a career high-tying seven 3-pointers on the
afternoon, and junior guard Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
added 21 points and three assists to help Florida win its 16th-consecutive
postseason game.
Oregon tied
the game at 45 with 17:06 to play, but Green connected from beyond the arc,
then scored on a driving layup that gave the Gators a
50-45 lead with 16:18 to play. After a timeout, Humphrey hit a 3 to make it
53-47 with 15:35 to play, and Oregon
never got closer than four rest of the way.
Junior forward Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.)
contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win, while junior forward Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.)
posted 14 points and five boards. Senior forward Chris Richard (Lakeland,
Fla.) added six rebounds –
all on the offensive end – off the bench.
