Florida Wins 2025 NCAA Championship in Thrilling Comeback Over Houston

The 2024-25 Men’s College Basketball season ended Monday night in scintillating fashion.

The Florida Gators became National Champions after outlasting the Houston Cougars by a score of 65-63. Houston was unable to get a shot off on each of its last two possessions, leading to the loss. A stunned Kelvin Sampson stood on the sideline frozen as he watched his team blow a double-digit second-half lead down the stretch.

Houston did a terrific job in disrupting Florida’s offensive rhythm. Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin combined to go 5-for-20 from the field (2-of-13 from three). If you were to tell the Cougars before the game that Florida’s most prolific scorers were held to those numbers, you would’ve taken that in a heartbeat.

Houston shot only 34.8 percent from the field as a team — and those offensive woes directly contributed to the team being unable to win the game. J’Wan Roberts, Emanuel Sharp, and Milos Uzan were all abysmal when it came to shooting the ball. The trio combined to go 8-for-33 on the evening.

Even then, Houston appeared to have full control of the game until Clayton Jr. took it upon himself to drive the ball to the basketball. As the Cougars’ offense sputtered, Florida crept back into the game — ultimately taking the lead with less than a minute remaining.

Down two with the ball, Houston had a chance to tie or win the contest in the final seconds. When Sharp went up to take a three, Clayton Jr. jumped up and would’ve easily blocked the shot. Sharp stopped his shot in mid-motion. He dropped the ball and avoided touching it (as it would’ve been a double-dribble). Sampson looked on in horror as the play almost unfolded in slow-motion — where Sharp was praying for a teammate to come and touch the ball.

Eventually, it was knocked toward half court and time ran out as Florida rushed the floor to celebrate.

This marks the third National Championship in men’s basketball for Florida — and the first since 2007.