University of Florida Gators Campus Sign — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Katherine Welles
In a thrilling game that went right down to the last play, the Florida Gators defeated the Houston Cougars to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship on Monday.
With 16:24 remaining in the second half, the Gators had fallen behind by as much as 12 points after leading for 64 seconds of the game. For the majority of the game, Florida and its star guard, Walter Clayton Jr., were held in check by Houston’s renowned defense.
However, the Gators returned, as they had done so many times in this tournament. Head coach Todd Golden and his staff gradually pulled the Cougars in the second half. In the last moments of the game, Florida rallied for a 15-3 run to level the score.
The Gators would not take the lead for the first time since the first few minutes of the game until the very last minute. Additionally, the Gators’ crucial defensive plays in the closing minutes were what sealed the championship in a matchup between Houston’s outstanding defense and Florida’s high-flying attack.
“Our soldiers were aware that the task would not be simple. After the game, Golden stated, “Didn’t panic when it got tough.” At 39, he became the youngest coach to win a national title since the tournament’s expansion to 64 teams.
“They did a fantastic job of never getting too high, never getting too low,” he continued. We persevered even after falling behind 12 in the second half. We refrained from blaming others, attempting heroic maneuvers, or playing defensively. We received rewards as a result of our toughness.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Cougars was happy to hold the ball for the game’s final shot as Houston slowly moved the ball up the court with 19 seconds left. After searching the perimeter for an opportunity, point guard Milos Uzan passed to guard LJ Cryer at the top of the key. With five seconds remaining, Cryer passed the ball to Emanuel Sharp while Florida guard Will Richard was draped over him. Clayton was flying at him when Sharp attempted a deep 3-pointer, but he dragged the shot down and dropped the ball to the ground.
The ball bounced three painful times before anyone else could reach the loose ball to get a shot off, and Sharp was unable to touch the ball again without a double-dribble being called.
Florida’s third-ever national championship—and first since 2007—was secured after Gators player Alex Condon was the first to pounce on the loose ball and the final horn blew before either team could seize control.
The Cougars are experiencing heartbreak once more. Houston participated in the school’s third national championship game and seventh Final Four. The Cougars are currently searching for their first men’s basketball national title.
“After the game, I encouraged our guys to be sad that you lost, but to be proud of their effort nonetheless. Florida is hard to defend. They have an exceptionally talented crew. After the game, Sampson remarked, “Coach Golden runs great schemes over there.”
We protected them. That team was restricted to 65 points by us. We believed we would have a strong chance of winning if we kept Duke to less than 70. I thought we would have an excellent chance of winning if we kept Florida under 70. We managed to triumph on Saturday. Perhaps not so much tonight. Two outstanding teams. Two formidable squads. We were defeated by two points. We didn’t make as many plays tonight as they did.
Houston takes charge early.
Both teams emerged from the match with their hair on fire after an intense first half. Florida scored early points against the renowned Houston defense by using their size, but the Cougars quickly tightened down and had the Gators commit nine mistakes in the first half.
The Gators tied the score at 21-21 after Richard made Florida’s first 3-pointer and then two more. However, the Cougars once more turned defense into attack and went on a lightning-fast 8-0 run to take the largest lead of the half. As the first half came to a close, Richard once more contributed to reducing that margin with a huge 3-pointer.
Richard placed the Gators on his back and kept them in the game after Clayton was shut out in the first half. Richard exploded in the first half against the Cougars following a difficult game against Auburn on Saturday, scoring seven points while shooting just 16% from the field. On 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long range, he scored 14 points.
Houston did a tremendous job protecting us. Out there, they perform an excellent defense. They are well-known for that. After the game, Clayton remarked, “This team has a number of guys who can go.” “With Will, tonight was one of those evenings. This year, he demonstrated it several times. We demonstrated as a team that you never know whose night it will be.
As fury bubbled over as Houston’s lead grew, the Florida Gators emerged from the locker room determined to increase the roughness and committed five fouls in the opening few minutes of the half, including a technical foul on the team’s bench.
For the majority of the game, Florida’s tale revolved around Clayton’s silence. Emanuel Sharp, the Houston guard assigned to follow the star guard’s every move, kept him totally in check and prevented him from making a shot between 5:14 in the first half and 14:30 in the second. In the end, Clayton broke his goose egg on the score sheet by scoring on a few free throws.
The Houston surge at the beginning of the half increased the Cougars’ lead to 12 points. As Houston tightened its defense, the Gators’ shooting problems worsened; in the first six minutes of the second half, Florida was only shooting 28.6 percent from the field.
The Florida Gators move ahead.
Soon later, things started to improve. With almost 12 minutes remaining, the Gators reduced the advantage to four points after going on a 7-0 run in just over a minute. Interestingly, Clayton was sitting on the bench during that run as his problems persisted.
With almost eight minutes remaining, Clayton made his first field goal of the game and then converted the and-1 free throw to make it 48-48. That 7-0 run grew into a 15-3 rally over five and a half minutes in the second half, putting the Gators even.
We used it as a defense. Stops were made. It involved figuring out how to get some run-outs. We were able to break up and get a couple, but we didn’t get much transition, like we discussed,” Golden said. With a few free throws and the and-one layup, Walt witnessed the ball pass through the net. That, I believed, somewhat relaxed him. Following that, we started to get some excellent shots, move downhill, and reach the foul line. We managed to slightly change the momentum and the outcome of the game.
In the closing minutes of the game, the Cougars maintained their lead as the Gators kept responding to tie the score. Ja’Vier Francis rocked the rim with a huge dunk as the clock approached the four-minute mark, giving the Cougars an opportunity to pull away from the Gators in the closing seconds. However, a pivotal occasion slipped Houston by when star guard LJ Cryer drove to the rim with 3:24 remaining and went out of bounds.
Houston would later come to rue that moment.
On the following possession, Clayton finally found his shooting touch, and Florida knotted the score. Richard made two free throws to help the Gators rally, but Cryer would put his team up again with a jumper. With two minutes remaining, Joseph Tugler made a free throw to put the Cougars ahead by one, but he was unable to increase the lead further.
After Clayton missed, Richard blocked Milos Uzan’s 3-point attempt, Cryer missed another jumper, and Tugler turned the ball over after grabbing the rebound, the next ninety seconds were a defensive battle. With 52 seconds remaining, Cryer handed the ball over after a theft by Gators player Alex Condon, who was unable to put his side ahead.
Florida takes control and wins a championship.
A couple of seconds later, the crucial moment arrived. Tugler drew a foul on Alijah Martin, who was then forced to leave the game. With 46.5 seconds remaining, Martin sank both of his free throws to give the Gators their first lead since they had taken an 8-6 lead with 15:37 remaining in the first half.
Richard, the team’s best player of the game, made a big defensive stop for the Gators on Houston’s closing possession. As Sharp drove to the baseline, Richard grabbed the ball, but it rebounded off the Cougars’ guard and sailed out of bounds. Florida had the ball.
With 19 seconds remaining, the Cougars had a final chance to win or tie the game when Houston fouled and Denzel Aberdeen made the second of two free throws.
The Florida fans will remember the game’s last play for a very long time. It made sure Clayton’s night wouldn’t be remembered for his three turnovers, 11 points, and 3–10 shooting.
Rather, Florida Gators fans will remember his defensive play on Sharp, the Cougar who had stopped him for the last 39 minutes and 55 seconds, on the final play of the game.
Clayton was around fifteen feet away when Sharp caught the ball at the top of the key. He wasn’t even close to the line for a free throw. Sharp dropped the ball because he didn’t want his shot to be blocked, but Clayton closed down and put a hand in his face before he could shoot.
More than anything else, I’m just sifting through my last two belongings. Unbelievably, we were unable to receive a shot under that circumstance. “Obviously, we didn’t need a three, and we’re down two,” Sampson remarked. However, we had trouble scoring the entire second half with Emanuel. We look good. However, Florida was effectively pushing us to score by running us off the line. We simply did a poor job of completing a few pictures.
The last seconds passed before the ball hit the court in no-man’s land.
“I believe that final possession lasted about eighteen seconds. We took great care of them. The ball was loose when I noticed it. All I wanted was for us to get there before them. I assumed it was going to be a jump ball or that we would win it when (Alex Condon) went on the court. The game was finished the next thing I knew,” Golden remarked.
“It was an amazing moment that I will never forget.”
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.