April 3 (Bloomberg) -- The University of Florida's starting five, some of whom gave up probable jobs in the National Basketball Association for another year of college ball, defended their championship with an 84-75 win over Ohio State.

The Gators' Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey last night became the first quintet in the 69-year history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament to win consecutive titles.

``Hopefully we'll be viewed as one of the greatest college basketball teams to ever play the game,'' Brewer, who was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, said at a postgame news conference. ``That's what we came back to do.''

Florida is the seventh school to win the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons and the first since Duke University in 1991-92. None of the other schools, including UCLA's 11 championship teams, featured the same starting lineup as the previous year.

Florida coach Billy Donovan said his players deserve recognition as one of the best units in the sport's history.

``I'm not saying they were the most talented or that they were flawless,'' Donovan said at his postgame news conference. ``But when you talk about what the word `team' encompasses in terms of unselfishness, sacrifice and playing together, they have got to be considered one of the best teams to ever play.''

Halftime Lead

Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Gators, who opened an 11-point halftime advantage against Ohio State and led by as many as 14 points during the second half at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Green added 16 points, while Humphrey had 14 and Brewer finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Noah, the Most Outstanding Player at last year's Final Four, had eight points.

Florida, which also beat the Buckeyes 86-60 on Dec. 23, finishes the season with a 35-5 record.

``From the beginning we knew we had the opportunity to do something special,'' Humphrey said.

Ohio State, which had a 22-game winning streak snapped, was led by 25 points and 12 rebounds by freshman 7-footer Greg Oden. Fellow freshman Mike Conley Jr. added 20 points for the Buckeyes, who finished 35-4. Ohio State made 4-of-23 three-point shots, while Florida hit 10-of-18 from long range.

Gators' Starting Five

Noah, Brewer and Horford opted to return to Florida for their junior seasons less than a week after beating UCLA by 16 points in last year's championship game. All three were projected as first-round picks in the National Basketball Association draft, yet they decided to rejoin Green, a fellow junior, and Humphrey, a senior, to try to win another NCAA title and claim a spot in college basketball history.

``For some of them that had a choice and made the choice to come back, you have to be pretty competitive to take on that challenge in today's day and age,'' said the 40-year-old Donovan, who is the youngest coach to win two national titles.

The only other schools to win consecutive basketball championships were Oklahoma State in 1945-46, Kentucky in 1948- 49, San Francisco in 1955-56, Cincinnati in 1961-62, UCLA in 1964-65 and 1967-73, and Duke in 1991-92.

Florida is the first school to win football and men's basketball championship games in the same year. Florida and Ohio State also met in football's Bowl Championship Series title game in January, with the Gators beating the Buckeyes 41-14.

Postseason Dominance

The Gators lost three of their final five regular-season games before rebounding in the Southeastern Conference tournament, where they won their three games by an average of 19.7 points. Florida routed Jackson State by 43 points in its NCAA tournament opener and then defeated Purdue, Butler, Oregon, UCLA and Ohio State to improve to 18-0 in postseason games over the past two years.

The Gators took the lead for good against Ohio State with 12:16 left in the first half as Green hit three free throws to snap an 11-11 tie after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. Green scored 11 points in the first half, helping Florida open a 40-29 lead, after he was held to two points in last year's title game.

Ohio State overcame second-half deficits in four of its previous five NCAA tournament games, including rallying from 17 points down against Tennessee and 11 down against Xavier. The Buckeyes never got closer than six points against Florida over the final 20 minutes.

When Ohio State pulled within 66-60 with 5:03 left, Green hit a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 Florida run that pushed the lead back to 13 points. The Gators hit 11 of 12 free throws over the final 2 1/2 minutes.

``They had an answer for everything we threw at them,'' Ohio State coach Thad Matta said at a post-game news conference. ``That's what great teams do to you.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 3, 2007 01:46 EDT