The 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the

2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2006-07 ...

and determined the national champion for the

2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2006, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on Apr ...

. The game was played at the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, between the South Regional Champion and top-ranked

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

and the Midwest Regional Champion and defending national champion, the overall No. 1 seed

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. Florida won 84–75, to successfully defend their national championship, becoming the seventh school to repeat as national champions, and were the last to accomplish such a feat until

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. For the second time in three years, the national title game was played between two No. 1 seeds. This game was a rematch of the game at O'Connell Center on December 23, 2006, which was won by Florida who defeated Ohio State in an 86–60 victory. This game featured the same two teams that participated in the

2007 BCS National Championship Game The 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007, and featured the top-ranked Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the 2nd- ...

marking the first time (and only current in Tournament history) that the same two schools were competing for the football and basketball national championships which saw

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

beat

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

41–14 to be the national champions of college football. This was Florida’s last national championship until

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, when they defeated

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 65–63.

Participants

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State entered the South region of the tournament as the No. 1 seed. In the first round,

Greg Oden Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. (born January 22, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. Oden, a 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) center (basketball), center, played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball, Oh ...

had a double-double to beat Central Connecticut State 78–57. In the second round, Ohio State overcame a late deficit for a 78–71 overtime win over Xavier. In the Sweet 16, Oden blocked a last second shot by Ramar Smith to beat

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

85–84. In the Elite Eight, Ohio State used Oden's 17 points to beat Memphis 92–76 for a trip to the Final Four. In the Final Four, Oden's 13 points were six points short of Roy Hibbert's 19 points but it was Ohio State who got the victory beating Georgetown 67–60 for a trip to the National Championship Game for the first time since

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Florida Gators

Defending champion Florida entered the tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. In the first round, Florida played a dominant second half against Jackson State outscoring them 71–34 in the 2nd half to take a 112–69 win. In the second round, Florida beat

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

74–67 to stay alive in their quest for a 2nd straight national title. In the Sweet 16, Florida took another step closer to becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since the 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils with a 65–57 win over

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. In the Elite Eight, Florida beat

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

85–77 to advance to the Final Four. In the national semi-final, Florida beat

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

76–66 to advance to the championship game.

Starting lineups

Game summary

In a rematch of a regular season meeting which had been won 86–60 by Florida in Gainesville, the Gators survived 25 points and 12 rebounds from Buckeyes center

with stellar play from guards Lee Humphrey and

Taurean Green Taurean James Green (born November 28, 1986) is a Georgian-American professional basketball player who last played for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Green played college basketball for the University of Flori ...

with inside contributions coming from

Al Horford Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (born June 3, 1986), nicknamed Big Al, is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star and won the NBA championship wi ...

(18 points) and tourney Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer.

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before moving to the NBA, he served as the head ...

became the third-youngest coach (at age 41) to win two titles. Only Bob Knight (at Indiana) and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Phil Woolpert Philipp D. Woolpert (December 15, 1915 – May 5, 1987) was an American basketball coach, best known as the head coach of the University of San Francisco Dons in the 1950s. He led them to consecutive national championships in 1955 Biograph ...

both won two titles at the age of 40. The Gators are the first team ever to hold the NCAA Division I college football and basketball titles in the same academic year (2006–07) and calendar year (2006 and 2007). Coincidentally, Florida also beat Ohio State (by a score of 41–14) in the College Football Championship, the first time in college sports history that identical match-ups and results have occurred in both football and basketball championships. This was also the first time in NCAA D-I men's basketball history that exactly the same starting five were able to win back-to-back titles ( Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Lee Humphrey,

). Florida's Lee Humphrey also set the all-time NCAA Tournament record for three-point field goals made with 47. Humphrey surpassed Bobby Hurley's record of 42. With the loss to Florida, Ohio State's record in the national championship game fell to 1–4.

References

{{2007 Florida Gators men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Florida Gators men's basketball Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball College basketball tournaments in Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball competitions in Atlanta April 2007 sports events in the United States NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game 2007 in Atlanta