Florida Gators
Ohio State
Gator Men's Hoops Falls To Ohio State, 62-49
Sunday, December 23, 2007 | Men's Basketball
The University of Florida men's basketball team struggled offensively, never getting into a rhythm, falling to Ohio State, 62-49, in a rematch of the 2007 national title game.
It's a long way from making up for all the grief that Florida has dished out to Ohio State over the last year, but the Buckeyes got a tiny measure of revenge Saturday with a victory over the Gators.
It was a rematch of the schools in last year's national championship games in basketball and football. The Gators won those matchups handily.
Kosta Koufas led the Buckeyes (8-3) with 17 points, while Jamar Butler, the only remaining starter from either team from last April's basketball title game, added 13.
Marreese Speights led the Gators with 12 points, while Jai Lucas had 11 points and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Florida came in averaging 83 points but never came close to getting untracked offensively as Ohio State's defense set the tempo throughout.
The Buckeyes took the lead for good on Koufos' driving layup with 6:59 left in the opening half and never looked back. They led 32-22 at halftime and their advantage never fell below double digits in the second half. They led by as many as 18 points and then coasted to the finish.
The Gators will get a week off before returning to action on Dec. 29 when they play Temple at the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
