Atlanta ? George Mason’s memorable run to the Final Four during last year’s NCAA Tournament captivated a nation. What people might forget is that the last three games of the season – the national semifinals and title game – were all decided by at least 14 points, making it the least competitive Final Four since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams.

Without a true Cinderella story, this year’s tournament hasn’t produced much buzz or water-cooler chatter, except for a couple of controversial officiating calls. But the real excitement starts tonight.

No Cinderella means there are nothing but heavyweights left in the Final Four in the Georgia Dome.

Ohio State (34-3) and Georgetown (30-6) meet at 5:07 p.m. in the first semifinal. UCLA (30-5) goes against defending national champion Florida (33-5) in the second.

“I know the Cinderella teams are fun to watch,” UCLA guard Arron Afflalo said. “You get to see their competitive spirit and the joy they create. … They play for a lot more than just the game usually.

“On a stage like this where we have a lot of powerhouse teams, it’s good for the basketball world as well as the outside world because it’s so competitive. The games are going to be great.”

Ohio State-Georgetown features a matchup between two of the nation’s best big men, freshman Greg Oden of the Buckeyes and Roy Hibbert of the Hoyas.

“It’ll be a great challenge, but I’d rather get matched with someone smaller than me,” Oden said. “I think what we do will be important, but it’s going to be a five-on-five game.”

“If I do what I am supposed to do against him,” Hibbert said, “it’ll cancel out what he is supposed to bring.”

Georgetown coach John Thompson III has faced a barrage of questions about bringing the program his father put on the map back to the Final Four. He’s been calling his club the “son-of” team because it features himself, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Jeremiah Rivers, the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

FLORIDA'S JOAKIM NOAH SHOOTS DURING PRACTICE for the Final Four. Noah and the Gators worked out Friday in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, where they will meet UCLA today for the right to advance to Monday's championship game.

Then again, the “son-of” team might be Florida. It has the children of two former NBA players – Sidney Green’s son Taurean is the Gators’ starting point guard and Tito Horford’s son Al is their starting power forward – and a French Open tennis champion. Center Joakim Noah from Manhattan is Yannick Noah’s son.

The second semifinal is a rematch of last year’s national championship game, but Noah said, “The only thing similar about that game and this one is the teams’ colors.”

The Gators are trying to become the first team since Duke in 1992 to repeat as national champion. “We know that would be something special and . . . unique,” Noah said. “We are so close to that ultimate goal. But winning in this tournament is about focusing on what’s at hand and that is (UCLA).”

Despite reaching their second straight Final Four, the Bruins haven’t forgotten their 73-57 loss to Florida in last year’s title game. Many of them are looking at Saturday night’s game as a chance to wipe out that memory.

“I had a lot of anger and a lot of pain,” Afflalo said. “To watch other people celebrate against you brings about some difficult feelings.”

However, players on both sides agree that these teams are very different from a year ago, even though the Gators will start the same five players. “We have grown a lot,” Noah said. “We spent the season . . . under a microscope . . . surrounded by haters. We have all been through as tough a season as we ever had.”

“This is not a rematch,” Afflalo said. “This is UCLA versus Florida from the ’07 season. We’re really looking forward to competing against the overall No. 1 team.”