Gators dial in from long range to beat longshot George Mason

INDIANAPOLIS -- Florida found a way to beat longshot George Mason.

Go long.

The Patriots' improbable run to the Final Four came to a jarring end Saturday night, swept aside by the Gators' 3-point shooting.

Florida made a dozen shots from outside the arc and moved on to the national championship game with a 73-58 victory over feel-good George Mason, who simply couldn't handle an immensely talented team that has arrived at the cusp of the school's first national title a year ahead of schedule.

The youthful Gators (32-6) will play in Monday night's title game, the second in their history. Florida lost to Michigan State for the 2000 championship, also played in Indianapolis.

Billy Humphrey led the way by hitting 6-of-12 from 3-point range and scoring 19 points. He was joined in the outside barrage by Corey Brewer and Taureen Green, who hit three treys apiece for a team that went 12-for-25 beyond the stripe. By comparison, George Mason missed its first nine 3s and finished 2-for-11 -- both of them coming too late to make any difference.

On the inside, the Gators were nearly as dominating. Joakim Noah -- his father, former tennis star Yannick Noah, cheering him on from the stands -- scored 12 points and Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds.

Florida finished with a 40-27 edge on the boards, playing keepaway in the final 2 minutes with three straight offensive rebounds.

It was way too much for George Mason, the charming little commuter school from suburbs of northern Virginia. The 11th-seeded Patriots (27-8) knocked off half of last year's Final Four and the last two national champions on their march to Indy, but they were overwhelmed by a team that hasn't been seriously challenged in the tournament.