# 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.
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. 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.

## Class of 2006

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall Recruiting Rankings: Scout – 22 Rivals – 20 ESPN – ||||||

## Roster

| 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

| 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

| 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

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 1 (63) | 1 (65) | 1 (66) | 4 (3) | 7т | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 (3) | 1 (43) | 1 (42) | 1 (45) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 3 (4) | 5 | 6 | 3 | Not released |
| Coaches | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 4 (2) | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 (2) | 1 (23) | 1 (23) | 1 (26) | 1 (30) | 1 (31) | 3 (1) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.

## Regular season

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, 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.

## Accomplishments

* 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