St. Louis, MO -- (Sports Network) - The defending champions are back in the Final Four.
Lee Humphrey nailed seven three-pointers -- including several key buckets down the stretch -- to guide Florida past Oregon, 85-77, in the Midwest Regional Final at the Edward Jones Dome. The Gators move on to Atlanta to take on UCLA in a rematch of last year's title game. Florida won that contest 73-57 to capture its first-ever national championship.
Humphrey finished with 23 points and Taurean Green netted 21 for Florida (33-5), which matched a program record for victories in a season, tying last year's mark
Leader Joakim Noah posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Corey Brewer also scored 14 while coming up with a big block late.
Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 27 points and Malik Hairston dropped in 18 for the Ducks (29-8), who were in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002.
The early stages of the second half were nip-and-tuck, with Florida playing front-runner for the most part but unable to gain any significant separation. And, following a Brooks layup, the Ducks pulled even at 45-45 with about 17 minutes remaining in the game.
Green countered with five straight points, though -- hitting a three-pointer before slicing to the rim for a lay-in -- to put the Gators ahead for good.
Humphrey caught fire from there to help grow the lead. After Maarty Leunen moved his club back within three with a pair of free throws, the senior guard dropped in a triple to make it 53-47.
The margin hovered around that mark for the next few minutes, until Humphrey provided the defining sequence. He rose up and buried a three with just under nine minutes to play, then after a Brooks turnover, hit another triple from the right wing to push the advantage to 67-57.
Oregon tried to fight back in the game and cut it to six, 70-64, after a Brooks bucket with about five minutes remaining. Al Horford drew a foul moments later and made both attempts from the stripe, however, to put the lead back at eight.
Some sloppy play by Florida allowed an opportunistic Ducks squad to creep back in it, and Oregon cut it to four with about 30 ticks on the clock on a pair of Brooks free throws.
Green then went just 1-of-2 from the line, and Brooks charged down the court looking to make it a one-possession game. Brewer elevated and rejected Brooks' shot, though, then hit two free throws at the other end to help ice the game.
The Gators are now just two wins away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since Duke accomplished the feat back in 1991-92.
An entertaining first half ended with Florida clinging to a 40-38 advantage.
Humphrey and Brooks paced their respective clubs with 14 points apiece, as neither team was able to gain much ground on the other.
A Humphrey three with 4:27 left put Florida up 33-27, only to see Brooks rattle off five quick points to cut the deficit to one as the end of the half neared.
Game Notes
This was the first-ever meeting between the two clubs...The Gators pushed their postseason winning streak to 16 games...The Ducks were trying to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1939...Horford finished with six points, seven boards and two blocks...Tajuan Porter had 10 points on just 2- of-12 shooting for Oregon
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