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Bruised Florida reaches Sweet 16

NEW ORLEANS — Somebody asked the Florida Gators what it feels like to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

It feels like an elbow in your ribs. It feels like a smash in the hip, a push in the back, a shove in the chest.

"Off the top of my head, I can't think of a game that was more physical," Florida senior guard Lee Humphrey said.

Al Horford and Corey Brewer led the way for the Gators with 17 points each but practically had to use the Jaws of Life to extract each one. That's because the mark that ninth-seeded and oh-so-rugged Purdue left on the second-round match against the defending national champions was black and blue.

Yet the Gators managed to have enough in the way of ice packs and poise to wrestle away a 74-67 victory Sunday at the New Orleans Arena.

Florida became the first defending national champion to advance to the Sweet 16 since Syracuse in 2004 and will play Butler in the Midwest Regional semifinals at St. Louis on Fridayl.

But first, the Gators (31-5) had to make sure all of their body parts were attached after a game that reverberated with frenzied contact and mayhem. Because the Boilermakers went down like, well, boilermakers, leaving a burn.

"They're a team from the Big Ten, and they've played the No. 1 team in the country in Ohio State, and they've been to all of those other places — Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin — on the road," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "We knew what we were going to get from them."

Boilermakers pressure
When the undersized Boilermakers (22-12) weren't giving the heralded Florida big-man tandem of Joakim Noah and Horford all they could handle on the inside, the Purdue guards were pressuring on the perimeter.

With 6-7 Carl Landry using his soft hands, smooth moves and hard nose to get inside for 18 points and 10 rebounds and with David Teague and Chris Kramer hitting from outside for 14 points each, the Boilermakers seized control of the game early, brought the pace to its liking and never backed down.

When the Gators fought back from a seven-point hole in the first 10 minutes to cut it to 31-29 at the half, Purdue held firm. When Florida went on a 10-2 run midway through the second half to seemingly take control with a 47-40 lead, the Boilermakers fought back. When Kramer drove for a tough hoop with 7:08 to play, Purdue was back in front 49-47.

That's when the Gators concentrated on getting the ball inside and Horford went to work. First, he took one dribble and turned to score on a power move from down on the right block to tie the score at 49. Then he stripped Landry on a turnaround at the other end that led to free throws that put Florida in front for good.

Horford asserts himself
Down the stretch, Horford was a one-man wrecking ball to the Boilermakers' upset hopes, pouring in eight points over the final 6:40. He scored on nifty jump hooks off the glass, on a delicate turnaround jumper and on one rip-roaring dunk off an offensive rebound. He grabbed big rebounds. He dove to the floor for loose balls.

"We knew this was going to be a grind all game long, and we felt like we wanted to be a part of that," Horford said. "We wanted to grind. Now we'll celebrate because we advanced to the Sweet 16, and that is a big deal. We've got to enjoy the moment."

If only to count body parts.

See more at www.chron.com