Midwest Regional Final Delayed Almost 10 Minutes By Broken Net

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Maybe somebody should have checked the nets before the Midwest Regional final started.<br/><br/>The game between top-seeded Florida and 3rd-seeded Oregon was delayed almost 10 minutes

Sunday, March 25th 2007, 3:04 pm

By: News On 6

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Maybe somebody should have checked the nets before the Midwest Regional final started.

The game between top-seeded Florida and 3rd-seeded Oregon was delayed almost 10 minutes near the end of the 1st half Sunday after one of the nets broke.

Florida guard Lee Humphrey's 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the 1st half snapped a string at the top of the basket. Officials called a timeout, but there was no quick fix.

It was several minutes before maintenance crews brought a ladder onto the floor. Then, another few minutes went by while the string -- not the entire net, just the string -- was replaced. It gave both teams an unexpected break, and the Florida players got so restless they came onto the floor at one point even though it was evident the net wasn't fixed yet.

When the maintenance worker finally climbed down from the ladder -- almost 10 minutes into the timeout -- the crowd gave a Bronx cheer.

Both nets were replaced at halftime.