A chalk bracket and uncut March Madness are not mutually exclusive things. All four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four for the first time since 2008 and the second time ever, and both semifinal endings were visceral stunners. Monday’s final comes on the heels of a surreal Saturday night: Walter Clayton Jr. was a microwave to seal Florida’s comeback against Auburn, and Houston scored seven points in 15 seconds to gut Duke. The Gators are vying for their third NCAA championship after back-to-back triumphs in 2006 and 2007; Houston is 0-2 all-time in the title game.
How to watch Florida vs. Houston
- What: Men’s NCAA National Championship Game
- Venue: Alamodome — San Antonio
- Time: 8:50 p.m. ET, Monday
- TV: CBS
- Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
- Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Clayton was historically good, becoming the first player to score consecutive 30 points this late in tourney action since Larry Bird at Indiana State. Florida looked flat in the opening and trailed Auburn by eight at halftime, then came out of the break with renewed aggression and a swift 11-0 run. Fellow senior Alijah Martin added a gym-rattling two-on-one transition slam:
OH MY GOODNESS ALIJAH MARTIN POSTER 😱#MarchMadness @GatorsMBK pic.twitter.com/JFyVsSaOT1
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Florida held unanimous All-American Johni Broome to just three points in the second half, and the Tigers tensed up with a single field goal in the final four minutes. Australian sophomore Alex Condon struggled with fouls and turnovers, but the reserves stepped up: seven-footer Micah Handlogten had three offensive boards in nine minutes, while bench big Thomas Haugh finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Todd Golden’s Gators had a wholly different energy down the stretch, headlined by Clayton’s gutsy heat checks.
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Houston took the chaos to another dimension in the nightcap. With one minute left, Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars trailed Cooper Flagg’s all-but-inevitable Blue Devils 67-61. Duke had the ball, too.
From there: Joseph Tugler’s block of Kon Knueppel at the rim, Emanuel Sharp’s off-balance 3 and the catastrophic Duke inbounds pass that ended with a Tugler posterizer. Then Tyrese Proctor missed a free throw and Cooper Flagg caught an over-the-back whistle on the rebound attempt. J’Wan Roberts made the bonus shots, Houston survived Flagg’s try for the game winner, and an April classic was minted.
We will fossilize debates about whether that Flagg foul was really a foul, and how much Broome’s nagging injuries played a part in Auburn’s collapse. It’s our right as an audience to question and argue, and dream. But the draw for Monday’s title tilt has everything fans look for from this tournament, a rare mix of top-seeded prestige and feverish comeback energies.
All-time starting five of national finalists
Florida:
- Taurean Green
- Lee Humphrey
- Corey Brewer
- Al Horford
- Joakim Noah
Houston:
- Alvin Franklin
- Reid Gettys
- Clyde Drexler
- Michael Young
- Hakeem Olajuwon
There’s a fun hypothetical title game to bend space-time: Phi Slama Jama versus Billy Donovan’s back-to-back champs. Who ya got?
This matchup can also be streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live app and Paramount+.
Houston vs. Florida odds
Streaming and Betting/Odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Emanuel Sharp: Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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