Stars and Depth on Both Sides in Title Fight

The New York Times

Lunedì 7 Aprile 2025

Pagina 41

The N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament started with 68 teams and plenty of dreams.

Three weeks and 66 games later, we are set for Monday’s Division I national championship game: Florida versus Houston in San Antonio.

It has been an interesting and unusual tournament, one notably short on upsets or surprise teams and decidedly heavy on big-conference dominance. All four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, and now we will have a title game featuring two of them, plus a nice selection of future N.B.A. stars.

It’s the Southeastern Conference versus the Big 12. It’s a battle between a young, up-andcoming coach and a well-traveled veteran who might have his best team ever. And it’s a matchup of teams loaded with depth and star power.

If you are new to this, here is an overview of the last two teams standing.

Florida (35-4) 

The Gators will be looking to secure their third national championship, their first since Billy Donovan as coach guided Florida to back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.

Florida got here by topping Auburn, 79-73, in a tight, hardfought Final Four matchup that included 15 lead changes and 10 ties. Guard Walter Clayton Jr. dropped a career-high 34 points to lead the Gators, becoming just the 15th player in the modern era (since 1985, when the tournament was expanded to 64 teams) to score 30 or more in a men’s Final Four game. He is the only Florida player on that list.

Florida trailed Auburn, the top overall seed in the tournament, by 8 points at halftime before raising its game in the second half, as it did against Texas Tech in the round of 8 and UConn in the second round.

Clayton scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half — including a 3-point play with 93 seconds left that gave Florida a crucial 6-point cushion.

This is Coach Todd Golden’s first appearance in the championship game, and it comes in just his third season leading the program.

The Gators are on an 11-game winning streak, winning the SEC tournament and then carrying that momentum through the N.C.A.A. tournament. Florida is undefeated in nonconference play, having lost only to its SEC rivals Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.

Florida has a deep roster, having entered the Final Four with five players averaging at least 9.8 points per game. But Clayton has been the Gators’ go-to guy late in this tournament.

Before his huge Final Four game, the 6-foot-3 senior scored 30 points — 8 of them in the final 107 seconds — in a win over Texas Tech in the round of 8. It is no shock that he has drawn comparisons to the N.B.A. star Stephen Curry.

Houston (35-4) 

Houston is appearing in the national championship game for the third time, though the Cougars are still seeking their first title. Houston’s other two appearances came in 1983 and 1984, when it lost to North Carolina State and Georgetown.

Hakeem Olajuwon played on both of those teams, and Clyde Drexler played alongside Olajuwon on the 1983 squad.

Houston got here by taking out Duke with a late comeback in the Final Four. The Blue Devils led, 64-55, with 3 minutes 4 seconds remaining, but the Cougars held Duke to 3 points — all on free throws — from there as they put together a furious rally and came away with a 70-67 victory.

L.J. Cryer, a Baylor transfer, led Houston with 26 points while shooting 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Duke, which missed eight of its last nine shots, was led by the freshman Cooper Flagg. He topped all scorers with 27 points but was held to 8-for-19 shooting from the field.

Led by Coach Kelvin Sampson, the Big 12 Conference champions are known for their defense, leading the nation with 58.3 points allowed per game.

The Cougars can also fill it up, thanks to a versatile roster that has four players who average double figures in scoring.

Before facing Duke, Houston had it tough in the Midwest region, having to knock off No. 2-seeded Tennessee (69-50), No. 4-seeded Purdue (62-60), No. 8-seeded Gonzaga (81-76) and No. 16-seeded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (7840).

Houston has lost only once since the start of December, an overtime loss to Texas Tech on Feb. 1. Sampson has been to the Final Four three times, but this is his first visit to the championship game.