Florida is back atop the college basketball universe.
The Gators (36-4) captured their third national championship in school history on Monday night with a 65-63 victory over Houston in San Antonio. Florida trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but managed to erase the deficit, battle back to take a late lead, and prevent Houston from getting a shot off on the final possession of the game.
Two free throws from Alijah Martin gave the Gators a 64-63 lead with 46 seconds left. Another foul shot from Denzel Aberdeen with 19 seconds to play gave Florida a 65-63 lead. Houston got the final possession, but never got a shot off.
"FLORIDA IS BACK ON TOP OF THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL WORLD!" pic.twitter.com/IeLecOAcSb
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 8, 2025Florida led for just 64 seconds in the title fight. But they solved their first-half issues, got Walter Clayton Jr. going in the second half, and cut down the nets for the first time since 2007.
Clayton finished with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting. He also had 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Alex Condon had 12 points and 7 boards. Will Richard led the Gators with 18 points and 8 boards. Florida limited Houston to just 35% shooting from the field and 24% shooting from 3.
In Todd Golden’s third season, the Gators were, indeed, golden.
But it was far from easy. In the first half, the Gators were lost.
Clayton, on the heels of back-to-back 30-point performances, was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes. He missed all 4 of his shots, all of them coming from beyond the arc. He had 5 first-half assists, but Houston’s pressure was bothering him and keeping him from kicking the offense into gear. Thomas Haugh was 1-for-3 for 2 points. Martin was 1-for-5 for 2 points. Florida had nearly as many turnovers (9) as made shots (11).
But the Gators trailed by just 3 points at the break. Richard was a huge reason why. The senior guard scored his first basket with 9:32 to play in the half — a 3-pointer that halted a 6-0 Houston run. And Richard caught fire from there. He scored all of his 14 first-half points in the final 10 minutes. Only 2 other Florida players hit baskets during that stretch.
In the second half, Houston threatened to blow the game open early. LJ Cryer splashed a triple 33 seconds in and ripped off an 11-2 run to go up by 12 points.
For the first 6 minutes of the second half, Florida had just 2 made baskets (2 Alex Condon dunks). With 14:07 remaining in the national championship, Florida trailed by 11.
Then, the Gators woke up.
All throughout the NCAA Tournament, Florida had used incredible scoring runs to either flip or take control of games. Aberdeen got the latest going. A layup from the bench guard ignited a 14-3 burst from the SEC champs to tie the game at 48-all with 7:54 to play.
Houston went back up 3.
Clayton converted an and-1 to tie it again.
And back and forth we went. Florida couldn’t nudge in front, but Houston couldn’t separate by more than a single possession. Richard continued his heroics down the stretch, with an offensive rebound that led to a pair of free throws with 2:18 to play, a block with 1:30 to play, and a swipe on the ball to jar a Houston offensive rebound loose and return possession to the Gators with 1:21 to play.
With 46.5 seconds remaining, Martin forced his way to the foul line to knock down a pair of free throws and give Florida its first lead, 64-63, since the game was 8-6 early in the first half. The play also fouled Houston’s Joseph Tugler out of the game.
On the ensuing Houston possession, guess who? Richard swiped down on the ball while Houston’s Emanuel Sharp was driving toward the basket and knocked it loose. Replay confirmed the ball bounced off Houston and Florida took over.
Aberdeen knocked down his free throw for the final point of the evening.
Houston ended the game without a single point over the final 2:05. The Gators also forced 4 turnovers over the final 2:05.
This was Florida’s fourth appearance in the national title game and its third title all-time. The victory also tied a school record for wins in a single season.
Florida comes back to beat Houston, capture 2025 national championship Saturday Down South.
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