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Billy Donovan's Gators began 2005-2006 unranked and mostly unnoticed. A young core of rising talent changed that fast, ripping off 17 straight wins to open the year, with #19 Wake Forest and #16 Syracuse among the victims.
A rough patch late in the schedule didn't stop Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer from working through the SEC Tournament, where Florida beat South Carolina 49-47 in the final.
That conference title and a 27-6 overall mark landed the Gators a #3 seed in the Minneapolis Region. South Alabama and Milwaukee fell by 26 and 22 points, respectively, and Florida rolled into the Sweet 16.
Georgetown, the #7 seed, gave them the toughest night of the run. It turned into a defensive grind from the opening tip, and UF escaped 57-53. Nobody else stayed within single digits.
Then came a 13 point win over #1 Villanova, a 15 point win over #11 George Mason and a 16 point rout of #2 UCLA, which delivered Florida its first basketball national championship.
"It was a very unselfish group, great length. We could do a lot of different things. It was an unbelievable year." -Billy Donovan
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