Florida secures first national championship since 2007 with suffocating defense

During Monday night’s national championship game, the Florida Gators led the Houston Cougars for a grand total of 64 seconds. Luckily for the Gators, those 64 seconds were all they needed to secure their first title since winning back-to-back tournaments in 2006 and 2007.

For the majority of the game, Houston felt in control and even seemed to dictate the tempo of the game. While it never completely pulled away, it did manage to carry the momentum of the game into an eventual 12-point lead midway through the second half. 

As Florida began to chip away at that lead, however, the momentum slowly started to shift away from the Cougars. Players like Walter Clayton Jr. — who struggled mightily for much of the game — and Alija Martin began making timely plays for the Gators. 

Down the stretch, both teams faltered in their abilities to create any sort of breathing room, with the largest lead in the final few minutes never surpassing three points. Ultimately, it was a late free throw by Denzel Aberdeen that gave Florida a two-point lead with 19 seconds remaining. 

After a Houston timeout, the only remaining question was whether legendary head coach Kelvin Sampson would draw up a play to go for the tie, or for the win. 

In the end, the final product that made it onto the court was surely not what Sampson was looking for, as a questionably executed elevator-type screening action resulted in a top-of-the-arc three-point attempt that ultimately resulted in a turnover.