Green didn't see Florida assistant Anthony Grant, following Donovan's order, poring over thousands of 2003-04 defensive possessions - games and practice - trying to understand the problem.

Green only knew his thigh muscles could explode any second. Sweating, knees bent, butt against the wall, the freshman point guard held his defensive stance until assistant Larry Shyatt allowed him to stand.

That was last fall. Florida's full- squad practice would begin in a few weeks, but Green already understood what his coaches expected. The Gators would drill defense from October through February so that when March arrived, they wouldn't fail again.

After embracing that philosophy, they've yet to lose this March. But the march that matters is the one that begins today at 12:25 p.m. when the fourth-seeded Gators (23-7) face 13th-seeded Ohio (21-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Last year's 75-60 loss to 12th-seeded Manhattan did more than eliminate Florida during the tournament's first weekend for the fourth consecutive season. It exposed the Gators to the nation as a bunch of soft defenders who imploded when their shots didn't fall.

But if not for that loss, Donovan said, they might not have ridden a seven-game winning streak into Music City while also celebrating an SEC Tournament title.

``As much as I wanted to propel our team and motivate our team and force our team to do things, there's almost a point where you can't do it,'' Donovan said. ``It's almost like they've got to go through the pain, the struggles and the suffering until they can enjoy the winning.''

Grant's analysis encouraged the coaches to take pieces of the defensive philosophies of Georgia, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Texas and Louisville.

``Coach Donovan said, `This is the way we need to play. This is the identity of our team,' '' Grant said. ``I tried to put something together in terms of the philosophy and the identity that we wanted to create.''

Shyatt, the former Clemson head coach, came aboard in May to lend a new voice to a staff that had been together since 1994. That voice spent many practices screaming at players to box out.

``I don't think we put in an offensive play the first three weeks,'' freshman forward Corey Brewer said.

When the games began, the coaches emphasized different statistics. Box-outs, charges absorbed and floor burns trumped points.

Those who boxed out, took charges and limped away on red knees earned positive points. Those who stood still and watched the ball bound off the rim received negative points.

If negative outweighed positive, may God have mercy on your soul come the next practice.

So the Gators immediately adapted to this philosophy, shut down their opponents and grabbed more rebounds than Ben Affleck, right?

Not exactly.

An 82-69 loss at Florida State on Jan. 2 dropped Florida to 8-3 with zero quality wins. Donovan questioned senior forward David Lee's heart, and no one knew how long a severe ankle sprain would sideline guard Matt Walsh.

``On that day, you don't even envision making it to the NIT,'' Donovan said.

But Donovan and his staff had planted seeds. They just didn't know how to make them sprout.

The first major hint came Jan. 15, two miles away from Gaylord at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium. Lee, challenged after finishing the FSU game with two rebounds, pulled down 17 in an 82-65 win against Vandy. At the same time, the Gators clamped down on the Commodores' high-scoring guards.

More proof would follow. Horford grabbed 18 rebounds in a win against Alabama. Florida roared back from 17 down to beat South Carolina on a Lee putback. The Gators would outslug Kentucky in a 53-52 win March 6, then Walsh - who wound up missing only four games because of the ankle - would break the Wildcats' will eight days later to help Florida win the SEC Tournament.

They haven't forgotten the pain. Walsh called parts of last season ``depressing.'' Green still remembers the fire in his legs during those drills. Center Chris Richard remembers dreading the next sunrise as the team bus rumbled home from Tallahassee.

Starting today, the Gators can prove whether their new philosophy will allow them to enjoy the winning for more than one weekend in March. Walsh believes they can.

``Everything has come together,'' he said.