It's Gator Country: Florida wins first title

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, April, 2006 | by Mike Jensen

The Florida Gators, playing free and easy, turned the NCAA title game into a playground romp and the RCA Dome into a dance party for delirious fans celebrating the football school's first national basketball title.

A step slower from the start, UCLA stayed at 11 national crowns after a 73-57 Florida victory last night in front of a crowd of 43,168.

When it was over, Joakim Noah, the loose-limbed center who kept all NCAA opponents away from the rim, jumped on a press table and snapped his arms like a Gator before racing into the crowd to hug his father, former French Open tennis champion Yannick Noah, and other family members.

"It's undescribable. This is the best I've ever felt in my life," Noah said. "You work so hard for these moments, they're so worth...