On scales of greatness, Gators weigh in at ... No. 4?

ATLANTA -- Florida wasn't competing Monday night with Ohio State. The Buckeyes were only a prop, an accessory, something useful and necessary in the way that Van Gogh's paint brush was useful and necessary. At the end of the day, though, Ohio State was something to be thrown away.

Florida trashed Ohio State 84-75, and now the real competition can begin.

No. 1? The past two years, yes, but not of all time, Joakim -- though No. 4 is hardly an insult. (Getty Images)

Because Florida was never competing with the Buckeyes. Florida was, is and forever will be competing with the Bruins. And the Blue Devils.

By beating Ohio State to complete a second consecutive roughshod run through an NCAA Tournament, Florida joined UCLA and Duke as the only programs to repeat as national champions since college basketball was fully integrated.

UCLA did it several times, but two groups of UCLA teams stand out: Lew Alcindor's champions from 1967-69, and Bill Walton's champs in 1972 and '73.

Duke did it in 1991 and '92.

Now Florida, in 2006 and '07.

So in that context, where does Florida rank among the best teams in college basketball history? Before we answer the question, Gators fans, embrace the goose bumps that should come with it and understand, everyone else, that Florida has distanced itself from all the one-and-done champions of the past 40 years.

UNLV was tremendous in 1990, as were Georgetown in 1984 and Kentucky in 1996 and Connecticut in 2004. Great. Congratulations. Those teams got their rings, but they can get the hell out of this story, because this story is about something more special than a single season. This story is about the best of the best, and twice-crowned Florida deserves a place among the four teams that are the best of the best in the past 40 years.

But the Gators are, to be honest, fourth on that list. I'd like to say the judging was close, that Florida finished fourth but the difference between first and fourth was as skinny as Corey Brewer's biceps. But that would be a lie.

Brewer, by the way, suggested the Gators are "the greatest team in college basketball history."

Brewer's not lying. He's just wrong, because he doesn't know any better. So here's a history lesson that starts with a look back to the late 1960s and the realization that, holy cow, those UCLA teams were fabulous.

Those Bruins won three straight titles in an era where only conference champions qualified for the NCAA Tournament. There were no fluke teams watering down the bracket, no mediocre mid-level Big Ten teams like this year's Purdue mucking up the road to the Final Four. In those days every team was the best of the best, and UCLA won those three titles by crushing its NCAA Tournament opposition by an average of 23.8 points in 1967, 21.3 (in 1968) and 21.5 (in 1969).