GAINESVILLE,
Fla. ? If Florida and Ohio State meet again this season, it won’t be in
the NCAA tournament.

The
Gators and Buckeyes, finalists in last year’s national championship game,
missed getting back into the tournament Sunday.

This
is the first time the two finalists from the previous year have not made the
tournament since 1980 when Michigan State and Indiana State did not qualify.
Magic Johnson led Michigan State to 75-64 championship game win over Larry Bird
and Indiana State in 1979.

Two-time
defending national champion Florida (21-11) lost eight of its final 11 games,
including the last four, and was clearly out of the NCAA tournament picture
before the brackets were announced.

The
Gators had their streak of consecutive NCAA tournament berths snapped at nine,
and became the first defending champ to miss the tournament since 1989 was
Kansas was ineligible because it was placed on probation.

Ohio
State (19-13) had a much better shot, having snapped a four-game losing streak
with wins against Purdue and Michigan State to close out the regular season.
But the Buckeyes lost their first game in the Big Ten tournament, falling 67-60
to the Spartans.

The
Gators and Buckeyes were expected to be high seeds in the NIT, which was to
release its pairings at 9 p.m. Sunday.

The
two teams were No. 1 seeds in last year’s NCAA tournament, and lived up to the
lofty expectations by making the title game.

Florida
won that meeting 84-75 in Atlanta, becoming the first school since 1992 to win
consecutive national championships.

But
both squads were devastated by the NBA draft two months later. Florida coach
Billy Donovan had three players ? Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah ?
selected in the top nine picks.

Taurean
Green and Chris Richard were second-round picks, and sharp-shooting guard Lee
Humphrey graduated.

Ohio
State’s Greg Oden was taken with the top pick, and Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan
Cook also went in the first round.

Those
personnel losses were so drastic that Donovan, who briefly took a job with the
NBA’s Orlando Magic before changing his mind and returning to Gainesville, and
OSU coach Thad Matta shared a laugh before the season about how little
experience they had coming back.

“The
reality is we’re in a tremendous rebuilding process, and this is why I came
back to take on this type of challenge,” Donovan said Thursday after
Florida lost to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference tournament. “That’s
a challenge I wanted to take on. But it’s not getting resolved next year. This
is going to be a process.

“You
can’t lose five NBA players and the all-time 3-point field-goal maker in NCAA
tournament history and expect not to miss a beat. It’s just not going to
happen. And that’s not an excuse. That’s the reality part of it.”

At
times this season, Florida and Ohio State looked like they might be better than
many expected.

The
Gators started 18-3, taking advantage of a weak non-conference schedule, and
upset then-No. 14 Vanderbilt by 22 points. They faded down the stretch,
however, getting exposed by big, physical and more athletic teams.

Now,
with an RPI around 70 and a strength of schedule around 90, they’re headed to
the NIT for the first time since 1998.

“We
didn’t expect this,” forward Jonathan Mitchell said. “It’s like a bad
dream.”

Added
Donovan: “These guys may have to be totally humbled in a way.”

The
Buckeyes had an RPI around 50, a strength of schedule around 20 and a winning
record in conference play ? they also played North Carolina and Tennessee close
? but lost six of their last nine games.

Both
teams could turn things around in the NIT ? if they can find motivation after
falling so far since the title game.

“Nobody
wants to go to the NIT,” Florida forward Adam Allen said recently.
“It’s like the champion of the losers if you win that. Everybody wants to
play in the NCAA tournament.”