Gators have seen this type team before

Their coach played college basketball against Florida coach Billy Donovan. Their top rebounder is a freshman.

Their biggest perimeter threat is a former gymnast and Big Ten quarterback prospect who does cartwheels and back flips on the way back to the bench.

Meet the No. 13 seed Ohio Bobcats - young and care-free. Just the kind of team that has given Florida problems in the NCAA Tournament in the recent past.

Last year, it was No. 12 seed Manhattan that sent the fifth-seeded Gators home packing before most of the field had even started. In 2002, another No. 12 seed, Creighton knocked Florida out in the opening round in double-overtime.

Even in its 2000 run to the NCAA Finals, Florida survived a first-round scare from No. 12-seed Butler, winning on a Mike Miller runner in overtime in the closing seconds.

So Ohio, whose colors, like Manhattan, are green-and-white, will enter its matchup Friday in Nashville, Tenn., with No. 4 seed Florida with a little karma working in its favor.

"It's a tough draw," Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. "They've got so much size and athleticism and are playing so well right now. They had the experience of losing to Manhattan last year, so you know that they are going to come out very prepared and very motivated."

As underdogs go, Ohio is dogged. The Bobcats, picked to finish last in their

division in the preseason, came back from a 19-point deficit in the second half to beat Buffalo 80-79 in overtime in the finals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Forward Leon Williams, the conference freshman of the year, won the game with a tip in at the overtime buzzer.

"It was just hanging on the rim forever," Williams said. "I still can't explain it. It's an unbelievable feeling."

Ohio rode an emotional wave the entire tournament, winning three straight games to improve to 21-10. The team was sparked by the return of assistant coach Kevin Kuwik, who is currently on leave from serving an 18-month mission as an Army engineer captain in Mosul, Iraq. Kuwik appeared on ESPN's Cold Pizza on Tuesday morning.

"For Kevin to be back and to win four straight to close the season, the way we did it in the finals, it's almost taken on a Hollywood feeling," O'Shea said.

O'Shea, a former Boston College guard who was a senior in 1984 when Donovan was a freshman at Big East-rival Providence, didn't expect his team to finish as bad as the preseason projections. But he wasn't expecting a championship, either.

"I thought we would be vastly improved," O'Shea said. "I thought we'd win some games in our conference, maybe finish .500. What's really come about is that our freshmen have played so well. It's been a great surprise. I really thought next year would be our breakthrough year."

Williams, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward, posted his 10th double-double of the season with 29 points and 15 rebounds in the tournament final. Overall, Williams is averaging close to a double-double with 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds.

Junior guard Mychal Green leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game. Freshman point guard Jeremy Fears, at 11.1 points per game and 117 total assists, runs the point, and also provides an interesting sideshow for fans who attend his games. First in a conference game at Detroit, and then at the tournament finals in Cleveland, Fears did an Ozzie Smith-style backflip and cartwheel as he left the floor during a substitution.

"It's the craziest thing I've ever seen at a basketball game," O'Shea said. "Him being 6-foot-3, he gets up so high in the air. He's a former gymnast, so I don't worry about him getting hurt."

Fears also was an all-state quarterback at Joliet High School in Joliet, Ill., who was heavily recruited for football by Illinois and Michigan State.

"He's Randy Moss-type athlete," O'Shea said. "He can throw passes on our in-bounds plays the length of the court. He made a sacrifice to give up football, but I think he's going to end up a pretty special basketball player."

With Fears as the engine, Ohio likes to push the ball up and down the court, which will be a contrast to some of the plodding teams that Florida has seen of

late in the Southeastern Conference. The Bobcats average 71.8 points per game and force 15.5 turnovers per game.

"They have a good complement of perimeter players that are very good off the dribble that can create their own opportunities," Donovan said. "And then they've got Williams up front who was the freshman of the year and who is probably a lot like (NBA forward) Gary Trent was at Ohio-a big, strong physical kid."

Florida players are looking forward to getting back to running, even though they have been more effective in a deliberate style of late.

"We scored 80 points against Mississippi State in the (SEC) tournament and were able to get up and down the court the next day with Alabama a little bit," said senior forward David Lee. "We see a lot of different styles in the conference and I think we've proven that we can win both ways."

O'Shea acknowledged that both Green and Williams are talented enough to play in the SEC, but that the talent gap between the two teams is wide, particularly when it comes to depth. Ohio relies heavily on its starters, which will make its task to stay with Florida that much more of a challenge.

"A lot of people have made them the darkhorse pick to go to the Final Four," O'Shea said. "We know what we're up against.

AT A GLANCE