SAN ANTONIO – The University of Florida Gators are back on top of the college basketball world.
In front of a capacity crowd of 66,602 at the Alamodome on Monday night, the Gators pulled off yet another dramatic comeback — this time against the University of Houston by a razor-thin margin: 65-63.
The Cougars dominated the Gators at the start of the game, leading to the lowest-scoring first half of a men’s national title game since 2011.
That was the game plan for Houston and Cougars Coach Kelvin Sampson, who are known for their smash-mouth defense and “junkyard” style of play.
The Gators, who trailed by as much as 12, turned up their high-octane offense with seven minutes left in the game and chipped away at the Cougar lead.
Walter Clayton Jr., held scoreless at halftime, came alive with a drive to the rim past the stout Houston defense. His first basket of the game came with eight minutes left in the second half.
The Gators mounted their comeback, taking the lead with 46 seconds remaining. It was the first time they had been ahead since 8-6 early in the game. Their scrappy defense forced a turnover on the next play, followed by a clutch free throw, a final defensive stand, and a Houston turnover to secure the heart-stopping victory. Florida only held the lead in the championship game for just over a minute.
Will Richard had 18 points. Alex Condon added 12 points. It gave a boost to the team that had relied heavily on Clayton for most of the tournament. Clayton finished with 11 (He had 30 points in the Elite 8 against Texas Tech and 34 against Auburn in the Final Four).
“We’ve been saying all year our motto is, ‘We all can go!’ We’ve got a team full of guys that can go. It’s not just about me,” Clayton said after the game about his sluggish start. “We’ve got multiple guys that can go get a bucket and do anything. My team helped me hold it down until I was able to go get a bucket.”
This is the Gators’ third NCAA men’s basketball championship. They previously won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
Their coach at the time, Billy Donavan, was in attendance Monday night as he was honored for being tapped for the 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame class.
Gators coach Todd Golden, 39, became the youngest men’s basketball coach to win an NCAA title since North Carolina State’s Jim Valvano in 1983.
“We have the best backcourt in America. The best front court in America,” said Golden after the game. “We all love each other. We all play for each other.”
Florida, a No. 1 seed, was one of a record 14 Southeastern Conference teams to make the men’s tournament.
NPR’s Russell Lewis contributed reporting.
Source: www.npr.org