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Florida wins national title on chaotic final play by Houston

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•04/07/25•

BarkleyTruax

Houston

Florida won its third national championship in program history on Monday night — and it came following a blunder from Houston on the final possession of the game. The mistake cost the Cougars the NCAA Tournament.

Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp was looking to attempt a potential game-winning 3-point basket, but the Florida defense smothered the shot attempt. Instead of taking the shot, Sharp instead chose to bounce the ball on the ground, which would have resulted in a travel if he touched the ball again. Florida dove for the ball and the clock expired.

The strong defensive play capped a 12-point comeback for the Gators in the second half. Florida began chipping away at the lead shortly before the second media timeout of the second half. An 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch cut the lead to just three points. From there, it was anybody’s ballgame.

Florida was able to take the lead on a pair of Alijah Martin free throws with 46 seconds left in the game. A Sharp turnover during the panultimate Houston possession gave Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen a chance to ice the game at the free throw line with 19 seconds left in the game. He missed the first of two, which gave the Cougars the opportunity to tie the game, or win it with the 3-pointer.

It appears as though Kelvin Sampson’s squad was ultimately looking to win the game in regulation. The the Gators’ defense would go on to stuff Houston on the final play, securing the team’s third national championship in program history, and first since the back to back title wins during the Billy Donovan era during 2006 and 2007.

“I’ve just been incredibly blessed,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said after the win. “I have an amazing staff. We clearly have the best team in America, and in three short years in Gainesville, we got the basketball program back where it belongs. Which is raising trophies, playing in Final Fours and competing for national championships. Super fortunate to be with this group right here.”

Florida finished the season with a 36-4 record. They’d go on to win their last 12 games, sweeping their competition in both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Their last loss came on Feb. 25 on the road vs. Georgia. During that final stretch, Florida defeated the likes of Alabama twice, Tennessee, then two-time reigning national champion UConn Huskies, top overall seed Auburn and finally, Houston in the championship game. Both Final Four games were against fellow No. 1 seeds.