2025 NCAA tournament: Officials miss clear Florida goaltending call, leads to Gators three-pointer vs. Houston

The officials appeared to miss a goaltending call against Florida in the final minute of the first half that would have potentially put Houston up by three scores at halftime. Micah Handlogten appeared to attempt his rebound on the ball before it cleared the rim, but the game was allowed to be played on. This led to a made Florida 3-pointer on the other end of the court.

It finished with a tough five-point swing for the Cougars as Will Richard buired a 3-pointer on the ensuing posession, assisted by Walter Clayton Jr. Those were the final points of the first half, and Houston took a 31-28 lead at the break.

Missed goaltending call, this should be 2 points for Houston pic.twitter.com/asNzyhvxLQ

— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) April 8, 2025

Calls like these, or lackthereof, could be pivotal in ultimately deciding the national championship, and in this instance Houston losing out on the two score-swing gave the Gators the momentum going into the halftime break. However, Houston would come out in the first five minutes of the second half and outscore Florida 11-4 including an 8-0 run to bust open a double-digit lead.

Frustration boiled over for the Gators early in the second half, as the Florida bench was assessed a technical foul during that run. However, a few stops with some baskets in transition would put the Gators right back in the game. The only issue for Florida is that it put Houston in the bonus with 14:07 left in the second half with seven team fouls in less than six minutes. These situations have kept the Gators out of transition as Houston’s defense continues to smother the Gators shooters.

Houston has gained a reputation for its hustle this season as well. After all, they were able to come back from a double-digit deficit against Duke in the Final Four in the final minutes of regulation. With their backs against the wall, Houston pulled off the 70-67 win, shocking Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils en route to the national championship.

Meanwhile, the Gators were able to take care of SEC foe Auburn 79-73 in their Final Four matchup. They outscored the Tigers 41-27 in the second half after trailing by eight points after the first 20 minutes. Florida will need a similar effort in the second half if the Gators want to win its third national championship in program history.

With Florida looking to make a comeback, there’s less than one half of basketball left during the 2024-25 college basketball season. Fans can watch the exciting finish to the national championship game live on CBS.