Florida and Houston meet on men’s college basketball’s biggest stage on Monday night after each took out the top two overall seeds on Saturday.
Each No. 1 seed put together a dominant regular season before taking home their respective conference championships. Both squads sit at 35-4 on the year, but only one will reach 36 in San Antonio.
Here’s a breakdown of the matchup between the two national title contenders:
Florida
The Gators boast one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, sitting at third in the country with 85.3 points per game.
Todd Golden’s squad has had plenty of close calls this tournament, escaping UConn, rallying past Texas Tech and out-pacing Auburn on Saturday night. The Gators look oddly comfortable in tight games, and most of that attitude is thanks to All-American point guard Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton has been sensational in the tournament, averaging over 25 points per game and seemingly hitting every big shot he takes. He carried Florida over Texas Tech in the final few minutes with two game-changing 3-pointers before he dismantled Auburn with 34 points, scoring 20 of his team’s 41 points in the second half.
Walter Clayton Jr. was UNREAL tonight 🤯
His 34-point performance powered @GatorsMBK to the #NationalChampionship game 🐊 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/OCVul5he3X
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The former Iona transfer is the latest March legend who appears almost unguardable, but he will certainly have his greatest test on Monday night against the nation’s top defense.
Houston
While the Gators boast a potent offense, they will be running into a buzzsaw that is the Houston defense. The Cougars play a suffocating style of basketball, leading the nation in points allowed — just one of two teams in the country holding teams to under 60 points per game on average.
Kelvin Sampson’s squad just got done taking out the juggernaut that was the Duke Blue Devils, whom many thought were clear title favorites. Duke holds three projected top-10 picks in the NBA draft, and Houston’s defense held them to just 67 points — Duke’s second-lowest point total of the entire season and 18 fewer than its previous tournament-low against Alabama.
Similar to Florida, it has not been a cakewalk to the title game for Houston, either. The Cougars needed a last-second bucket to get past No. 4 Purdue in the Sweet 16 and they went on a historic 9-0 run in the final minute against the Blue Devils to reach this point.
How quickly things can change 🤯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/5NcPPIqrSI
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Houston plays a much more balanced style of offense, with four starters averaging double-digit points. LJ Cryer leads the way with 15.6, and his matchup with Clayton will be must-see TV.
Matchup
The nation’s third-ranked offense versus the top-ranked defense in the national championship should produce a top-tier matchup. Each team has clawed their way through the tournament, stepping up when it mattered most. This game should come down to the buzzer. Can Houston finally scale the mountain to bring a title back to H-Town, or will Florida re-plant the seeds of a dynasty it built in the mid-2000s?
Follow along here for live updates and highlights throughout the game as the 2025 men’s basketball champion is crowned.
