Live Blog: Florida Gators 65, Houston Cougars 63
SAN ANTONIO — A national champion has been crowned and it’s the Florida Gators, who beat Houston 65-63 in a thriller Monday night in the NCAA Tournament Final at the Alamodome.
Florida now has won three basketball national titles. This is the first since 2007.
Below are our live updates from the title game between Florida and Houston.
Florida vs. Houston Live Blog
FINAL: The Gators have done it. Florida took the lead late and hung on, forcing a turnover on Houston’s final possession as time ran out on the Cougars.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 60, Florida 57 (3:24 2H)
UF tied the game three times in the last four minutes but haven’t taken the lead yet. Time for Gators to get over the hump and close this thing out. National title is on the line.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 48, Florida 47 (7:54 2H)
The Gators are on a 13-3 run over the last 5:30 and Walter Clayton Jr. is headed to the line with a chance to tie the game after that and-one. Cougs haven’t scored in 3:35, missing seven straight shots and 11 of their last 12 attempts.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 45, Florida 41 (12:06 2H)
The Cougars burn a timeout after a 7-0 run by the Gators, including a huge 3-pointer by Alijah Martin. Thomas Haugh has a potential three-point play coming after getting fouled on his layup.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 40, Florida 30 (15:48 2H)
Another 8-0 run for the Cougars and the Gators haven’t scored in 2:45 while committing three turnovers during that stretch (up to 12). UF needs a spark.
HALF: Houston 31, Florida 28
Will Richard has half of UF’s points and all four of its triples with a team-high 14. He’s 4-for-6 from 3 and the rest of the Gators are 0-for-8. Fortunately for Florida, its defense held Houston to 14.3% beyond the arc (2-for-14) in the first half. Both teams shot 38% from the floor.
UF committed nine turnovers against just a pair for the Cougars, but they only have two points off them. The Gators are winning the rebounding battle 22-19 and have seven second-chance points while Houston has none. Houston’s bench is outscoring Florida 13-4 so far.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 29, Florida 23 (3:41 1H)
The Cougars reeled off an 8-0 run before that layup by Alex Condon. Still no points yet from Walter Clayton Jr., who’s 0-for-4 from the floor.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Florida tops Houston
Gators are champs
- 2New
Predicting Final AP Poll
Projected Top 25 after Florida crowned
- 3Hot
Way-Too-Early Top 25
Looking ahead to 2025-26 hoops
- 4
Jay Bilas
Calls out ACC in defense of Duke
- 5
Mouhamed Dioubate
Alabama transfer commits to Kentucky
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SCORE UPDATE: Houston 20, Florida 16 (7:42 1H)
Will Richard knocks down back-to-back 3-pointers — UF’s first triples of the game — to cut the deficit to two. He also hit another one trey that was waved off.
SCORE UPDATE: Houston 14, Florida 10 (10:18 1H)
Already five turnovers by the Gators and none for the Cougars. UF needs to get it going offensively, no points in the last 3:48 and no scores from its backcourt.
SCORE UPDATE: Florida 8, Houston 8 (15:05 1H)
The Gators have their bigs going early with all of their points coming from the frontcourt. Already four offensive rebounds for the Cougars but no second-chance points.
Florida Gators starters
| No. | Player | Position | Height/Weight | Class | Min. | Pts. | Rebs. | Misc. |
| 1 | Walter Clayton Jr. | Guard | 6-2, 195 pounds | Sr. | 32.5 | 18.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 ast |
| 15 | Alijah Martin | Guard | 6-2, 210 pounds | Gr. | 30.3 | 14.6 | 4.6 | 2.2 ast |
| 5 | Will Richard | Guard | 6-4, 206 pounds | Sr. | 31.5 | 13.2 | 4.5 | 1.6 stl |
| 21 | Alex Condon | Forward | 6-11, 230 pounds | So. | 24.9 | 10.5 | 7.6 | 2.3 ast |
| 9 | Rueben Chinyelu | Center | 6-10, 260 pounds | So. | 19.0 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 0.9 blk |
Houston Cougars starters
| No. | Player | Position | Height/Weight | Class | Min. | Pts. | Rebs. | Misc. |
| 7 | Milos Uzan | Guard | 6-4, 190 pounds | Jr. | 31.4 | 11.5 | 3.0 | 4.3 ast |
| 4 | L.J. Cryer | Guard | 6-1, 200 pounds | Gr. | 32.6 | 15.6 | 2.3 | 3.1 3fg |
| 21 | Emanuel Sharp | Guard | 6-3, 210 pounds | R-Jr. | 27.3 | 12.8 | 3.0 | 1.4 stl |
| 11 | Joseph Tugler | Forward | 6-8, 230 pounds | So. | 21.8 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 2.0 blk |
| 13 | J’Wan Roberts | Forward | 6-8, 235 pounds | Gr. | 30.1 | 10.7 | 6.5 | 1.8 ast |
National Championship pregame coverage
* Florida Gators seek complete game to beat Houston in national title
* Florida Gators vs. Houston: Keys to the game, matchup breakdown
* Staff predictions: Florida Gators vs. Houston Cougars
* Florida Gators or Houston Cougars? Media make their picks
* National Title Preview: Florida vs. Houston | Gators Online Show
* Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin preview Florida vs. Houston
* Everything Todd Golden said Sunday as Florida preps for Houston
* What Kelvin Sampson, Houston Cougars say about Florida Gators
* Get to know Houston, the Florida Gators’ championship opponent
* Florida vs. Houston: How to watch, betting lines, game notes
* How the Florida Gators have fared in national championship games
* Inside the fiery halftime speech that ignited Florida’s win vs Auburn
* Auburn legend Charles Barkley praises Gators, Walter Clayton Jr.
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