Image Credit: NCAA
Sixty-four seconds. That’s how long the No. 1 seed Florida Gators led Monday night in San Antonio. Yet it was the final 46 seconds that mattered most for these comeback kids as Florida rallied from 12 points down in the second half to storm past the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars, 65-63, on their way to claiming the third national championship in program history and first since 2007.
The Gators conquered the 2025 NCAA Tournament as few teams have historically — from behind. Despite one of the nation’s best players, senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr., being held without a field goal until 7:54 remained at the Alamodome, Florida stayed true to itself and found a way to win — as it has all season long.
Trailing by 12 points with 16:24 to play, the Gators mounted the third-largest comeback in NCAA history during a national title game. Head coach Todd Golden, 39, became the youngest coach since the legendary Jimmy Valvano in 1983 to claim a national crown, doing so in his third season leading Florida.
Clayton posted his lowest point total over the last 11 games yet nevertheless stood as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament — and perhaps UF program history. He scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 8 minutes as the Gators stole a page from the Cougars by outworking the nation’s best defensive team to end the season’s final game.
Florida’s road to glory was immensely uncommon — and the toughest in college basketball history. The Gators played six opponents whose seeds totaled 33, one away from the minimum of 32 and tied with 1993 North Carolina for most difficult path since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
UF became the second team since 2000 to win both Final Four games when down at halftime. In fact, the Gators trailed in four of their last five games also staging comebacks from down 6 points against UConn in the second round, down 10 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and down 9 points against Auburn in the Final Four. Clayton was key to each of those shifts, respectively scoring 13, 10 and 9 points over the final stretches of the season’s last three games.
Florida is the only team in at least the last 20 years to overcome three deficits of 9+ points in the Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship on its road to a title.
The Gators won Monday despite being held under 70 points in the game and under 30 in the first half for just the second time this season — the other being a 20-point loss — and committing 12+ turnovers in every March Madness contest.
Perhaps most unbelievably, Florida took a path perhaps never traveled before defeating the two-time reigning national champions (UConn), the No. 1 overall seed (Auburn) and another No. 1 seed (Houston) in the same NCAA Tournament — one that featured four No. 1 seeds in among the most difficult and star-studded Final Fours ever. This after UF won the SEC — what was largely considered the best single season for a conference all-time.
Florida could not have started worse Monday night with 7 turnovers in the first 12 minutes as Clayton struggled to take care of the rock and found himself unable to score. The teams combined for an 0 of 14 mark from 3-point land to begin the game until Gators senior guard Will Richard hit back-to-back treys that atoned for some of his team’s early struggles. A third triple from Richard tied the contest at 21, but Houston quickly responded with an 8-0 run thanks to a lucky banked 3-pointer.
Fighting back and closing the gap to 3 points at halftime, UF was led by Richard, who went 4 of 5 from deep (no one else made a trey) with half of the team’s points (14 of 28) and more rebounds (5) than anyone on the court. Despite trailing as Clayton struggled, there were signs of life as the Gators held edges in rebounding and second-chance scoring while showing far better ball distribution.
The Cougars came out of the break with a 3-pointer and used an 11-2 start to quickly take a 12-point lead as Florida committed 5 fouls (plus a technical) and 3 turnovers in the first 3:28 of the second half. Clayton first found the bottom of the net from the free-throw line after 25 minutes of game action before Houston entered the bonus with 14 minutes to play.
Once officials started calling equal fouls and UF stopped turning the ball over, the Gators erupted on a 8-0 run accentuated by a step-back 3-pointer from senior G Alijah Martin, cutting their deficit to 3 points. Just like that, Florida was back in the game while joining Houston in the bonus. Consecutive driving buckets and converted And-1s by Clayton extended the game-tying scoring stretch to 14-3 run over 5:30.
Clayton drained a 3-pointer for the 62nd consecutive game — a UF record — to again tie the contest at 60 with 3 minutes remaining. Four free throws by Richard and Martin put Florida ahead for the first time in 34:51 as it trailed for a stretch that lasted 87% of the contest. Junior G Denzel Aberdeen added one more gimmie to create a 2-point cushion before, amazingly and ironically, a steal by struggling sophomore forward Alex Condon — subbed in for defense over the final 19 seconds — created a game-ending turnover.
The Gators, which dug themselves a hole committing nearly a turnover per two minutes (13 over 30:26), did not give up the ball once over the final 9:34. Conversely, the Cougars, which entered the final stretch with only four turnovers, committed five across the last 3:24. In the end, Florida’s team basketball (14 assists on 21 baskets, 66.7%) was too much for Houston’s inconsistent attack (5 assists on 24 baskets, 20.8%).
Walter Clayton Jr., Mr. Clutch: Fought through one of his worst shooting games of the season to again flash clutch scoring when it mattered most. Posted 11 points on 1 of 7 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line with a game-high 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 turnovers
Will Richard, The Hustler: Tagged in and stepped up for Martin (as they have spelled one another all season) — not to post a career game but execute the most important performance of his career. Scored a team-high 18 points (14 in the first half) on 4 of 7 shooting from 3-point range with a game-high 8 rebounds. Also went 4 of 4 from the line and worked his ass off across both ends of the court to create additional opportunities.
Alex Condon: A Jekyll-and-Hyde performance if there ever was one. Exited the tournament-long struggle bus to become the second-leading scorer with 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting while going 2 of 2 from the line with 7 strong boards … yet coughed up a game-high 4 turnovers, fouled 3 times and struggled on defense … yet grabbed a game-high 4 seals, including the national title clincher.
Denzel Aberdeen: Scored 7 key points while spelling Clayton when Florida badly needed a spark. If not for Aberdeen’s calm play, the Gators may have never gotten back in the game.
Alijah Martin: Hit a massive 3-pointer when it was needed the most despite struggling overall (7 points, 1 of 6 from downtown) coming off an incredible Final Four effort.
Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu: Each grabbed 5 boards creating multiple second chances while limiting Houston opportunities.
Florida won the third national championship in program history improving to 3-1 when contending for a title with wins in 2006-07 and 2025, a loss in 2000 … Golden joined Billy Donovan as the second of two coaches to bring the Gators a national title … Florida improved to 51-20 all-time in NCAA Tournament play … the Gators were a No. 1 seed for the third time in program history and now boast a 16-1 all-time record from that position in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Final Four on all three occasions (2007, 2014, 2025) and winning the national championship twice (2007, 2025) … UF completed its sixth Final Four appearance (1994, 2000, 2006-07, 2014, 2025) … Florida ended the season 12-2 against AP Top 25 opponents … at 36-4, the Gators tied a program-best mark for most wins in a single season … Clayton with 713 points stands as Florida’s single-season scoring record holder with two of the top-six scoring seasons in program history and more combined points than any other player across two campaigns … Clayton’s 134 points over the last six games are the most by any Gators player in an NCAA Tournament … UF committed one technical foul all season; it committed two on Monday night …
Florida under Golden won its second straight game when trailing at halftime, improving to 7-4 in such situations this season … the Gators under Golden improved to 57-10 when outrebounding an opponent (30-3 this season), 68-7 when outshooting an opponent (32-1), 63-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range (33-0) and 35-12 when shooting 75% or better from the free-throw line (17-0)
