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Florida suffers no fools; Brady wants more money?

HOW THE DREAMS DIED

Billy Donovan's Gators may have won the game because of the dramatic 12-2 disparity in made 3s, but their ability to throw the ball into the low post was the reason the 3-ball became that deadly weapon.

Florida struggled much of the first half, shooting quick, long 2s. All of that changed late in the first half, when George Mason twice lost track of Taurean Green, who made them pay with two 3s. Lee Humphrey then did the same on the first two possessions of the second half.

Why were they open? Al Horford and Joakim Noah. ...

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UCLA's thorough domination of LSU started at the opening tip and the game was over long before the final buzzer sounded. While the final margin was only 14 points, this game might as well have been a 50-point blowout.

UCLA was better prepared, better under pressure and was better not only with its best players, but with four or five guys off the bench who we had seen very little of all year. To underscore just how impressive UCLA's bench was, consider that in the first half, the Bruins' starters played nearly as many minutes as the starters.

The Bruins scored 50 points in the entire game against Memphis, then scored 39 in the first half against the SEC regular-season champs, which leads to the obvious question: How did they do it? ...

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SHOW HIM THE MONEY?

INDIANAPOLIS -- Expect LSU coach John Brady to have intense negotiations with athletic director Skip Bertman about a new contract.

The Tigers' coach is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the SEC.

Brady's name surfaced with the Missouri job, but there was never any serious contact, especially with the Tigers making a run to the Final Four.

Brady isn't looking to leave LSU but clearly wants to be upgraded in the salary department. That's only natural considering he led the Tigers to Indy and has one of the nation's most stocked rosters returning next season -- assuming it remains intact.

LSU's players naturally weren't about to discuss leaving for the NBA right after their loss to UCLA, but redshirt freshman Tyrus Thomas and sophomore Glen "Big Baby" Davis will have decisions to make.

Thomas would be a top-10 pick if he decided to declare for the NBA draft. At least one player personnel director told ESPN.com that Thomas needs more time to develop his overall game, but he didn't dispute the impact Thomas would have on the lottery if he made himself available, because of his superior athleticism.

Davis, if he did test the draft process, probably would return unless he was guaranteed a high first-round spot. Davis loves being a part of this program and hasn't ever really made it seem like he was ready to bolt.

LSU also will get back point guard Tack Minor, injured for most of this season, but loses lead guard Darrel Mitchell. The Tigers, if Thomas and Davis both return, would be a preseason top-10 team.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

INDIANAPOLIS -- With no compelling reason to watch the basketball before them, the Manning brothers -- Peyton and Eli -- decided in the middle of the second half of the UCLA-LSU game to meet the tall man in the front row wearing the Bruins cap.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appeared happy to shake hands with the famous quarterbacking brothers.

Right across the aisle from the Mannings' center-court seats was Arizona coach Lute Olson. A few seats away were Calvin Hill and his family, some of whom were wearing George Mason green.

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With the RCA Dome emptying at an astonishing rate during the second semifinal, you had to admire the guy sitting about 10 rows behind one basket. He held a "Go Mason" sign aloft for a long time.

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As anticipated (and feared), LSU-UCLA was an offensively challenged tussle. The Tigers' 45 points was the second-lowest Final Four total since the advent of the three-point shot in 1986-87. The only performance that subsumed it was Wisconsin's 41 points against Michigan State in the infamously ugly 2000 semifinals.

LSU failed to make a three-pointer and had one more field goal (16) than turnovers (15).

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Famous Florida father and former French Open tennis champion Yannick Noah made an appearance in the Gators' postgame locker room. Problem is, Noah couldn't find his son, Joakim, who was hidden behind a wall of minicams and print reporters. While waiting for the crowd to thin out, the elder Noah chatted up center Adrian Moss, trying to talk him into coming to Europe for the World Cup soccer tournament this summer.

Meanwhile, Joakim was doing a lengthy interview -- in French. He lived there for much of his youth and speaks the language fluently, which drew a couple of French journalists to his locker after the game. A crowd of American sportswriters had to wait while the Q and A droned on in a foreign tongue.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Folarin Campbell

AP Photo/Michael Conroy
LSU's Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis knew the national semifinal was slipping away from them as UCLA poured it on in Indianapolis.
FINAL FOUR MOTION
TODAY'S BEST
Player of the day
UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, whose 17 points and eight rebounds were almost greater than the combined performances of LSU's more ballyhooed frontcourt partners Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas. Mbah a Moute's strong performance negated what appeared coming in to be a huge advantage for LSU and was a crucial component of the shockingly easy 59-45 Bruins win.

Honor Roll
Lee Humphrey, Florida: 19 pts, 6-12 3s (73-58 W over GMU)

Joakim Noah, Florida: 12 pts, 8 rebs, 4 blocks (73-58 W over GMU)

Corey Brewer, Florida: 19 pts, 6 rebs (73-58 W over GMU)

Al Horford, Florida: 6 pts, 13 rebs (6 off), 4 asst (73-58 W over GMU)

Jai Lewis, GMU: 13 pts, 11 rebs (73-58 L to Florida)

Jordan Farmar, UCLA: 12 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls (59-45 W over LSU)

STATS OF THE DAY
48% -- What Florida shot from the 3-point line, making 12-of-25 from the arc in the win over George Mason.

50% -- Florida's offensive rebounding percentage against George Mason (16 out of 32), which led to 19 second-chance points for the Gators.

0, 15 -- The number of 3s made and the number of free throws missed (in 28 attempts) by LSU in the loss to UCLA.

TODAY'S TAKES
Forde: Florida relishes bad guy role
The Gators brought an abrupt end to the nation's best underdog story -- and seemed to enjoy it. Story

Whelliston: Patriots run out of Kryptonite
Florida flipped the shootings script on George Mason, bringing an abrupt end to the Patriots' run, Kyle Whelliston writes. Story

Gene Woj: UCLA's D is key
It can be as exciting as watching sweat dry, but UCLA's stifling defense swallowed up another contender whole and has the Bruins in the title game. Story

Katz: UCLA, Florida underappreciated
The national title game matches two teams that didn't get a lot of national love this season. Story

Final Four Zoom photo gallery
Take a look at the best pictures from the two national semifinals. Gallery

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