Third Time’s the Charm: Florida Wins NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

SAN ANTONIO – In a nail-biting thriller before a packed Alamodome crowd of 66,602, the Florida Gators clawed their way back to the pinnacle of college basketball, securing their third NCAA men’s national championship with a dramatic 65-63 victory over the University of Houston.

The game was a tale of two halves. Houston’s stifling “junkyard” defense dominated the opening stanza, holding the Gators to a historically low-scoring first half for a national title game since 2011. The Cougars built a lead as large as 12, seemingly dictating the pace.

However, with just seven minutes remaining, Florida’s high-powered offense ignited. Walter Clayton Jr., remarkably held scoreless in the first half, sparked the comeback with a crucial drive to the basket. It was his first points of the game, but they signaled a shift in momentum.

The Gators chipped away at the Houston advantage, finally seizing the lead with just 46 seconds left – their first lead since the early minutes (8-6). Their tenacious defense then forced a critical turnover, followed by a clutch free throw and a final defensive stand that culminated in another Houston turnover, sealing the heart-stopping win. Florida held the lead for a mere minute of the entire championship game.

Will Richard led the Gators with 18 points, while Alex Condon contributed 12, providing crucial support to Clayton, who finished with 11 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Clayton had been instrumental in their journey, scoring 30 in the Elite Eight and 34 in the Final Four.

“We’ve been saying all year our motto is, ‘We all can go!'” Clayton exclaimed after the game. “We’ve got a team full of guys that can go get a bucket and do anything. My team helped me hold it down until I was able to go get a bucket.”

This championship marks Florida’s third NCAA men’s basketball title, adding to their consecutive wins in 2006 and 2007 under then-coach Billy Donovan, who was in attendance and honored for his upcoming Naismith Hall of Fame induction.

At 39 years old, Gators coach Todd Golden became the youngest men’s basketball coach to win an NCAA title since Jim Valvano in 1983. “We did what we did all year. We stayed the course,” Golden said. “We’ve had to come back quite a bit this tournament but these guys have been elite with their composure… They compete and they find a way to win. They are winners.”

Florida, a No. 1 seed, was part of a record-setting 14 teams from the Southeastern Conference to participate in the men’s tournament.