Your guide to the males’s national title game: How Florida,

• Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Personnel Writer Basketball recruiting expert. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Myron Medcalf Close Myron Medcalf ESPN Personnel Writer Covers college basketball Joined ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato Apr 7, 2025, 08:00

  • AM ET And then there were two.Florida and Houston were strong throughout the regular season. Both dominated their conference competitions. Both are 1-seeds. And

both beat tough challengers to reach Monday’s national championship in San Antonio.Now, everything is on the line in the March Insanity ending(8:50 p.m. ET on CBS). The Gators are searching for their first championship game because their back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 with Billy Donovan, while the Cougars are seeking their first in program history.For a last time this season, Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello break down each team and pick which will reduce the nets.Jump to: Florida|Houston|Forecasts How Florida reached the Last Four: How can the Gators compete with Houston’s physicality? This has actually been the primary concern for every Houston challenger for the previous 11 years. Kelvin Sampson’s Houston teams have completed top-15 in adjusted protective effectiveness in 7 of the previous eight seasons, which

indicates Florida’s bigs will need to be relentless in rebounding, assaulting the paint and playing exceptional interior defense. Houston outscored Duke 19-12 on second-chance points Saturday, and the Gators will need to close that space to win.But this game is likewise about endurance. The Blue Devils were tired by the end of Saturday night– a by-product of an intense, 40-minute game versus Houston. Florida requires its big men to avoid nasty trouble, challenge the Cougars around the rim on offense and defense and have the endurance to play an intense speed for two halves. It’s a challenging job that only one team has actually accomplished considering that Nov. 30 against Houston. play 1:04 What sort of challenge is Florida facing vs. Houston?Seth Greenberg previews Florida’s matchup vs. Houston for the nationwide title.Who must step up for Florida? Will Richard. The list of standout guards Houston has held to unsteady offending efficiencies in March is long: Robert Wright III (Baylor ), Julian Hammond III(Colorado), Egor Demin(BYU), Braden Smith(Purdue), Zakai Zeigler(Tennessee)and Tyrese Proctor(Duke)

. Walter Clayton Jr. might be contributed to that group Monday.But the Gators are not a one-man program. Richard is the only member of Florida’s starting backcourt who has had 3

single-digit efforts over the past 5 games. The 6-foot-4 senior made 38%of his shots from beyond the arc in league play but was 0-for-5 from the 3-point line in his previous two games. That all needs to alter Monday night. Duke and its three forecasted lottery picks and the national player of the year needed more assistance against Houston, even after it had a 14-point lead. Richard will need to contribute.Editor’s Picks 2 Related

The Gators ‘prospective fatal defect: Providing challengers too many chances at the free toss line. Florida was a top-25 defensive group over the final month of the season. It’s a crucial element of its resurgences throughout the NCAA tournament. However the Gators also have actually committed a lot of fouls recently. 9 of their past 11 opponents had at least 22 free toss efforts. Houston benefited Saturday night from a couple of pricey fouls by Duke, making 4 essential free tosses in the last seconds. That might happen again Monday night

if the Gators put

the Cougars on the free throw line too often.Florida will win if … Walter Clayton Jr. scores 25 points or more. Since of the method Florida plays and how much it counts on Clayton as a ball handler, the Gators will only go as far as he takes them. When he is a powerful scorer and playmaker, opponents are required to double him, producing more chances for his colleagues. The Gators will face the best defense in America and although they have actually gotten rid of almost impossible chances in the NCAA competition, Houston’s Saturday night return over Duke was practically extraordinary. If Clayton gets hot Monday night, it will likely suggest the Gators– ranked second in the nation in adjusted offensive effectiveness– are rolling and have found the holes in that vaunted Houston defense. If he has a hard time, it will complicate whatever Florida wants to do against Houston, specifically if the Gators have another second-half deficit standing in between them and their title dreams.– Myron Medcalf How Houston reached the Last Four: play 0:49 Duke is up to Houston in chaotic ending Houston takes down Duke after a disorderly ending including a missed Cooper Flagg jumper and nasty, with Tyrese Proctor losing on a last-second heave.How can the Cougars consist of Walter Clayton Jr.? If anybody’s going to slow down Walter Clayton Jr., it will be the best defense in college. Houston is exceptionally physical, both on and off the ball, and does not make anything easy for challengers. The Cougars will likely look to deny Clayton easy catches in rhythm and ensure he doesn’t get clean looks.But Clayton didn’t have a lots of tidy appearances against Texas Tech or Auburn and still put

up historically great performances. One area to enjoy will be the

3-point line. Houston has a strong 3-point defense, but it enables 3-point shots. That’s not a recipe for stopping Clayton.Who must step up for Houston? This is another potentially huge game for J’Wan Roberts. He must enter with lots of confidence after making the most significant plays in the final seconds against Duke: boxing out Cooper Flagg to draw the nasty, making two totally free tosses, and contesting Flagg’s prospective game-winning shot. He was irregular over the previous month approximately and likewise missed 2 games due to the fact that of an ankle injury.He’ll need to be at his best versus Florida and its elite frontcourt. That means being active and aggressive on the offending glass and staying out of nasty difficulty at the other end of the floor. The Gators have size and depth to toss at Houston on Monday night, and Roberts needs to remain on the floor.Top stories of the week from Get exclusive access to thousands of premium articles a year from leading writers. – NFL draft: Top edge rushes are …”- Worst Prem League groups to get CL areas”- NBA insiders weigh in on awards” More ESPN +material” The Cougars’prospective flaw: Houston doesn’t have lots of weak points. But two locations to view will be the complimentary throw line, and whether the Cougars can avoid the offensive droughts that almost dug them too big a hole versus Duke. Houston was 12th out of 16 Huge 12 groups in defensive free throw rate and 14th in offensive totally free toss rate. The Cougars balanced less complimentary throw attempts per game than their opponents.Florida isn’t proficient at getting to the totally free toss line– and is even worse at making those

shots– but if the officials aren’t letting Houston be physical and players such as Clayton and Will Richard and Thomas Haugh are getting to the line, that’s bad news for the Cougars.Meanwhile, L.J. Cryer single-handedly kept Houston within striking range Saturday, striking several threes versus

the Blue Devils– but didn’t get much assistance from his colleagues till late in the second half. It’s hard to see that working again.Houston will win if … It wins the war on the backboards and limitations Clayton. Luckily for the Cougars, both remain in the wheelhouse of a Kelvin Sampson-coached team. The Cougars are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country– it’s a big area for Roberts and Joseph Tugler– ranking 10th in offending rebounding

percentage and the leading 20 in second-chance points per game.(Though Florida is big and even better at offensive rebounding, statistically.)At the other end, Houston’s guards will have to stick to their concepts versus Clayton. Auburn had some early success blitzing him on ball screens and forcing the ball out of his hands, but as the game endured, he regularly got to his left hand and into a rhythm. Houston will likely have the exact same concepts, reviewing ball screens, hard-hedging, blitzing to get the ball out of Clayton’s hands and ensuring he does not get a clean appearance.– Jeff Borzello Florida vs. Houston predictions Jeff Borzello: Houston wins, 67-65 Myron Medcalf: Houston, 70-67