By Donovan Gibbs, Assistant Sports Editor
The SEC is once again the kings of men’s college basketball as the Florida Gators completed another major comeback and an all-time finish, defeating the Houston Cougars 65-63 in the National Championship game. In the most-watched national championship matchup since 2019, Florida wins their third national title and first title since the ‘06-’07 season.
The Gators came into this game as the favorites, led by point guard Walter Clayton Jr., who has been extremely reliable for Florida. Clayton Jr., the senior guard, has been a valuable piece as his 34-point performance on 11 of 18 shooting from the field and 5 of 8 from three-point range took down rival juggernaut Auburn Tigers in the Final Four. Clayton became the second player to score 30 points in consecutive NCAA Tournament games in the Elite Eight or later, with Larry Bird being the only other to accomplish such a feat.
“Clayton Jr has been the best player in this entire tournament outside of Flagg. His impact offensively and defensively in close game situations is the reason Florida has made it this far to begin with,” junior communications major Todd Bowles Jr. said.
Houston Cougars, with the nation’s best scoring defense (holding opponents to an average of 58.3 points per game), came into this game after a courageous effort in their own right, pulling off a come-from-behind win against 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils. They overcame a 14-point second-half deficit with a 25-8 run, including a 9-0 stretch in the final 33 seconds. They did this by suffocating the Blue Devils and holding them to one field goal and 1 for 10 from the field in the final 10 minutes. Cougars guard L.J Cryer came up big with 26 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field and 6 of 9 from three-point range.
The contrasts in playstyles were the biggest topic coming into Monday night as Florida head coach Todd Golden and Houston head coach Ralph Sampson had a 30-year age gap. Golden based the Gators around analytics and moving college basketball into a modern-day lens with Florida shooting a heavy volume of three-pointers. The Cougars are built on grit and a tough defense, running a style similar to Sampson playing days of Houston’s Phi Slama Jama teams from the 1980s.
The game would tip off, and the first half would be all in Houston’s favor. The Cougars had the game plan of stopping a red-hot Clayton Jr. and executed it. Sending all sorts of defensive traps and pressures, they locked down Clayton Jr. and held him without a point through the first half.
The Gators would stay in striking distance thanks to senior guard Will Richards, who would contribute 14 of Florida’s 28 first-half points, nailing 4 three-pointers as well in the half. Houston finished the first 20 minutes up 31-28, finding their rhythm from the field after starting the game 0-8 from three-point range. The Cougars were 28-3 this season when they had the lead at the half.
That 3-point lead would soon balloon to 12 as the Cougars led the Gators 42-30 early in the second half. Florida would respond with a 12-3 run to slice the deficit to 45-42. Clayton Jr. would make his presence known in the second half with 11 points, his first bucket being an and-one layup to tie the game 48-48.
Florida has been no stranger to comeback victories in this tournament, as the Gators were 9 points down against Auburn in their Final Four victory and 10 behind to beat Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. This 12-point rally ties the third-largest comeback in national championship history.
Houston had five turnovers entering the final two minutes, but the Cougars coughed the ball up four times in those crucial moments, a pivotal factor that turned the game in Florida’s favor. Meanwhile, Florida turned it over nine times in the first half, but the Gators protected the rock in the second, only committing four all half.
Houston’s struggles continued offensively with sophomore forward Joseph Tugler fouling out on the shooting foul to Alijah Martin, sending Martin to the foul line as Florida trailed 63-62. Florida proceeds to take a 64-63 lead on the pair of made free throws.
On the following possession, Cougars guard Emmanuel Sharp turns the ball over with 26.5 seconds left in the game. Houston fouls junior guard Denzel Aberdeen. Aberdeen splits a pair of free throws, extending Florida’s lead to 65-63.
With 19.7 remaining and down 2 with the national championship on the line, L.J. Cryer brought up the ball, and the madness began. Houston set up multiple screening actions, but Florida did not let up an inch defensively. With five seconds left, Cougars’ Sharp was ready to go for the win with a 3-pointer from the top of the key until Clayton came racing to make a clutch close out Sharp.
“Just go 100 percent,” Clayton said of the play. “Honestly, my mind was just a little blank. Trying to get a stop.”
Sharp dropped the ball as he came back down, couldn’t retrieve it because that would have been a travel violation, and the ball bounced around, carrying Houston’s dying hopes. Florida’s Alex Condon was the first to the floor to recover the loose ball as time ran out. Florida prevailed by defeating Houston at their own game.
“Watching that ending was amazing, such an extreme meltdown by Houston not being able to even get a look at the basket with 19 seconds left. Florida played terrific defense and deserved to win such a rollercoaster of a game,” freshman sports management major Braylon Vincent said.
Walter Clayton Jr. was awarded Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. He has come a long way from being a zero-star recruit out of Lake Wales, Florida, to now averaging 22.3 points during the tournament and his 134 total points being the most scored in the tournament since UCONN’s “Cardiac” Kemba Walker in 2011. He was also the first Gator in history to be named a First-Team All-American and win a championship ring.
Florida stunned the entire nation by winning the national championship, as many predicted the SEC champions to finish 6th in the conference.
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