How Florida beat Houston to win the men’s NCAA championship

Men’s March Insanity delivered on its name guarantee, from early-round upsets to Final Four comebacks.The road ended in San

Antonio, where the finale in between Florida and Houston went to the wire at the Alamodome with Florida eventually winning the 2025 men’s NCAA championship.Our reporters on-site broke down how the Gators installed another come-from-behind triumph to cut down the webs in San Antonio.Jump to: Relive the action Final: Florida beat Houston 65-63 How Florida won: For the Gators, the leadup to Monday’s game focused nearly entirely around Walter Clayton Jr. The All-America guard was on a run not seen given that Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker carried UConn to a pair of titles in 2011 and 2014. It was immediately obvious that Houston’s searching report concentrated on Clayton, too.After scoring a combined 64 points in his previous 2 games, Clayton didn’t score his very first point until the 14:57 mark of the second half versus the Cougars. He didn’t make his very first field goal till there was 7:54 left in the game. It was the dish for a comfy Houston champion win, inevitably continuing the narrative about the Cougars ‘top-ranked defense.But Florida’s supporting cast kept the Gators in the game simply enough time for Clayton to get going in the 2nd half, eliminating a 12-point deficit on their method to a 65-63 win for Florida’s 3rd championship game because 2006.”Learn more from Jeff Borzello Editor’s Picks

1 Related Pivotal moment: There were a lot of stretches that appeared definitive in this game. Houston took a 12-point lead early in the second half after a wild series

that featured a foul on Will Richard followed by a technical on the Florida bench. The Cougars appeared to keep the Gators just out of reach from there, but didn’t take another double-digit lead over the last 13:24 of the game.Clayton had actually been quiet for the many of the game, but his 3-pointer with 3:14 to go not just connected it at 60, but likewise appeared to reinvigorate the Gators, who used that as fuel till a defensive stop at the buzzer sealed the title.– Myron Medcalf Essential player: Although he had a hard time in the second half, Richard’s 14 points in the first kept Florida in the game as Clayton went scoreless in a half for simply the 3rd time this season. Richard was pivotal for a Gators group that didn’t have a great deal of answers for the Cougars’tough defense early. Without his effort, Florida would not have won.– Medcalf Will Richard led Florida in scoring with 18 points in the championship win over Houston on Monday night. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson Florida vs.

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