Florida Overtakes Houston to Win NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

Florida came back after trailing by 12 points in the second half to beat Houston 65-63 to win the NCAA basketball championship in San Antonio on April 7th. The Gators trailed most of the game (leading for just 64 seconds) before grinding out the two point victory capped by a defensive stop in the last few seconds.

Defense was front and center in this contest. Houston held Walter Clayton Jr., Florida’s leading scorer in the tournament, to just 11 points, none in the first half. Will Richard led Florida with 18 points, and Alex Condon added 12. L.J. Cryer led Houston with 19 points; no other Cougar scored in double figures.

This was the third national championship for Florida, and the first since going back to back in 2006-7. Houston became national runner up for the third time, and the Cougars have left without a championship in seven Final Four appearances.