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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida and Walter Clayton Jr. somehow overcame Houston's spirit-crushing defense Monday night to will out a 65-63 victory in an NCAA title-game thriller not decided until Clayton's own D stopped the Cougars from taking a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Read more about the Florida victory here: Florida Gators win 3rd NCAA title in thriller, stops Houston at the buzzer
‘It’s pretty incredible’
What we know:
The Florida Gators (35-4, 18-4 SEC), once projected to finish sixth in the SEC, advanced to the title game for the first time since its back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. The Houston Cougars (35-4, 22-1 Big 12), riding an 18-game winning streak, made its first national championship appearance since the famed Phi Slama Jama era in the early 1980s.
Both teams entered Monday night’s final with identical records. Florida defeated Auburn 79-73 in its semifinal matchup behind a 34-point effort from All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr., while Houston mounted a 14-point comeback to edge Duke 70-67 in the other semifinal.
Florida was a 1.5-point favorite by BetMGM Sportsbook.
The backstory:
Florida’s rise under third-year head coach Todd Golden has been a slow burn. After an early-season stumble and a loss to Georgia in late February, the Gators have strung together 11 straight wins. Clayton’s postseason breakout has powered the run, with back-to-back 30-point performances and a tournament-leading 123 points.
Houston’s path under veteran coach Kelvin Sampson has been more sustained. The Cougars have won 30 of their last 31 games, with their only losses coming in overtime—including a one-point loss to Texas Tech and an early-season defeat to Auburn. Houston was last in the Final Four in 2021 but fell short in the COVID-restricted tournament held in a bubble in Indianapolis.
What they're saying:
"It’s pretty incredible," said Florida coach Todd Golden. "In three years, been fortunate to build a great staff that is aligned, that works really hard for each other. Then we’ve just accumulated a great group of guys on our roster. It took a little bit to get all these pieces together. But to a man, they all pull the same direction."
Houston’s leading scorer L.J. Cryer, who won a national title with Baylor in 2021, said tuning out the noise has been key.
"This whole year, I’ve been trying to stay off social media and stuff like that. I really don’t see those type of things," Cryer said. "I try just to listen to coach Sampson, and he believed we were the best team in the tournament, so that’s the only person I listened to."
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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Associated Press.