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Haywood, a 7-foot junior from Greensboro, N.C., had four points and five boards in 17 minutes of the second half.

"He certainly had a good game," said Tar Heels coach Bill Guthridge. "I just think they wore us out. I was in hopes that their playing 10 players would not be a factor, but I think that it was."

For a stretch at the end of the first half and the start of the second, North Carolina played its finest basketball of the season. "Billy Ball" had a different last name, and it was Guthridge. Then it faded away, and Haywood was as useless for most of the second half as he was powerful for most of the first.

"They did a good job of double-teaming the post every time I got the ball," Haywood said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball, but I had to kick it out because the double team was there. I had confidence in my teammates to make (those) shots."

Haywood said he had faced more physical front lines during the season, but that Udonis Haslem, Donnell Harvey were among the most effective low-post players he has played.

Florida coach Billy Donovan said his first priority was to turn the game into a track meet. What's new? That way, the Heels wouldn't have time to slow it down and run a solid play for Haywood in the post. North Carolina did that very well in the first half.

In the second half, the Gators coaxed Carolina into the up-and-down game that is the staple of "Billy Ball," which neutralized Haywood.

Haywood had scored a total of seven points in six career NCAA Tournament games until this one started two weeks ago. In this one, he averaged 15.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, shooting 59.6 percent from the field.

Miller time?

If Florida sophomore Mike Miller chooses to make himself eligible for the NBA Draft on Tuesday morning, which is the hot rumor here, he'll have to do a better job of promoting himself on Monday night against Michigan State than he did Saturday.

Miller, remember, is the reason the Gators are still playing in April, since he hit the buzzer-beating, winning shot in overtime against Butler in the first round. Against North Carolina, he went 3-for-13, missing all six of his 3-point attempts, for 10 points. He also had seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 20 minutes.

It was his lowest scoring output in 13 games, since he tallied five in a defeat at Tennessee on Feb. 12.

The momentum changer

With two fouls in less than 90 seconds, North Carolina senior guard Ed Cota had four with 13:18 to play Saturday. And he might as well have played the rest of the game wearing a strait jacket.

"It definitely changed the momentum of the game," Cota said. "My team wasn't comfortable playing, with me having four fouls. My approach to the game was definitely different. I wasn't being aggressive anymore, and I was giving my guy (Brett Nelson) open shots. I didn't want to pick up my fifth foul.

"Florida played a great game."

Florida takes the fifth

The Gators are the first No. 5 seed to advance to an NCAA title game. As a fifth-seeded team in 1996, Mississippi State lost a national semifinal game to Syracuse in East Rutherford, N.J.

Over the past two seasons, Florida is 37-1 when it holds an opponent to 70 points or less. Moreover, North Carolina shot a season-worst 35.1 percent against the Gators.