SWAMPED AGAIN DEJA BLUE FOR LOSING BRUINS.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

Staff Writer

ATLANTA -- One year made no difference.

Neither did an overhaul of the starting lineup, nor the maturation of guard Arron Afflalo into a consensus All-American, nor the experience gained from a run to the 2006 title game.

About the only thing one year proved was that UCLA remains light years behind Florida on a basketball court, as the Bruins were manhandled for a second straight time on college basketball's grandest stage.

Florida's superior size, talent and pure skill rendered UCLA's offense nonexistent and its vaunted defense incredibly vulnerable, and because of it the Gators are on the precipice of basketball immortality after a 76-66 thumping of the Bruins on Saturday at the Georgia Dome pushed them into the national title game.

The Gators, who defeated the Bruins by 16 points in last year's championship, can become the first program since Duke in 1991 and 1992 to win back-to-back national titles. Florida (34-5) faces Ohio State, which beat Georgetown 67-60 in the other Final Four matchup, in Monday's championship game.

"You have to credit the opponent when they beat you they way they did," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "I think they are very well-coached. Their two inside guys are just terrific, really hard to match up with, and they have outstanding perimeter play."

Josh Shipp led UCLA (30-6) with 18 points, but only four came after halftime. Afflalo didn't score for more than 33 minutes, yet ended with 17 points before fouling out with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Corey Brewer paced Florida with 19 points and teamed with guard Lee Humphrey to make 8 of 13 from 3-point range. Gators big men Joakim Noah (11 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 rebounds) combined for 17 points, and Chris Richard added 16 points off the bench.

"This team has an inside-outside presence, and it's real hard to beat a team like that," UCLA point guard Darren Collison said. "Most teams we play have either an outside presence, or inside. This team has both. We tried to double the post players, and they killed us. They're just a better team."

While the slam-dunking, rebounding-grabbing Gators, who shot 53.3 percent from the field, showed plenty of jubilation with high-fives and tongue wags in the win, UCLA's second straight trip to the Final Four without a national championship might signal the end of Afflalo's collegiate career.

And what a troubling, mind-numbingly poor performance Afflalo will remember for a long time -- and for all the wrong reasons.

He spent 15 minutes of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, as UCLA's best perimeter defender couldn't handle the size and quickness of Brewer, who at 6-foot-9 had a four-inch advantage.

Brewer also dominated Afflalo on the other end of the court. Afflalo didn't score until making a 3-pointer with 6:17 left, and that cut Florida's lead to 58-42 in what turned into a repeat showing of last year's title-game loss in which he went scoreless for the first 29 minutes and finished with 10 points.

"I don't want to leave on a bad note," Afflalo said. "I'm not giving any answers, but in respect to the school, they've done a lot, and I want to leave on a positive note, if possible. From the minute I stepped (on campus), it wasn't about being All-American, it wasn't about being player of the year. It wasn't about any of that. It was about winning a championship. I'm not satisfied one bit."

Florida's supremacy extended well beyond shutting down Afflalo. Collison didn't make his first field goal until 9:23 remained and power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute didn't score until a dunk with 13:36 to play.

But long before any of UCLA's marquee players made a dent offensively, the Gators, just like a year ago, solved the Bruins double-teams, slithered through blockouts, and overpowered UCLA's smaller front line.

Once the Gators found their rhythm after missing their first five shots, and six of their first eight, it was merely a dunk-fest for Noah and Horford, who also imposed their will to dominate the boards as Florida held a 43-26 rebound advantage.

"You can't really contain all of us," Horford said. "Someone is going to go off. They were doubling the post so we kicked the ball out and our guards stepped up and made some big shots."

Although the Bruins' defense began strong, their inability to score, a recurring theme under Howland, kept them from building a significant lead. Florida didn't get a field goal until Taurean Green's 3-pointer with 12:31 left in the first half, but UCLA led only 6-5.

Florida finally settled down and took a 26-16 lead thanks to a 10-0 run in which the Gators took quick, open shots in transition, passed quickly out of double-teams and utilized their speed to break down the Bruins' defenders.

"They have such good personnel it's hard to focus on one thing," Shipp said. "We tried to stop the bigs, and the guards had a big night. They're just a great all-around team."

Florida ended any hope of a UCLA rally with a 12-0 run early in the second half, fueled by 3-pointers from Humphrey and Brewer and two dunks by Noah and another from Horford to make it 44-28 with 13:51 remaining.

Bruins reserve big man Alfred Aboya said Florida was more effective in the second half because Noah and Horford moved further away from the basket, so UCLA's defenders had farther to run for the double-team.

"They're a well-oiled machine," Aboya said. "They've been together for two years now, and they understand each other. They know where each other is on the court. That makes it easy."

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Florida's Joakim Noah celebrates behind UCLA's Josh Shipp after scoring in the second half of their Final Four semifinal.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

(2) Arron Afflalo, right, could not seem to solve Corey Brewer or the Gators.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images