MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL

By BEN BOLCH

March 26, 2006 12 AM PT

NO. 1 VILLANOVA VS. NO. 3 FLORIDA

* Time: 2 p.m. PST.

* The Buzz: Whichever team conducted the lighter practice Saturday could have an advantage, because both teams are coming off draining victories in the regional semifinals; Villanova needed overtime to defeat Boston College, and Florida held off Georgetown in the final seconds of regulation. The Gators have extra incentive to defeat the Wildcats after being eliminated by Villanova in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season. Villanova, which features a four-guard lineup, would seem to be at a disadvantage against a Florida lineup that includes three players 6 feet 8 or taller, but the Wildcats were able to persevere against a bigger Boston College team.

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Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL

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