The national championship match which will attract the curtain of the NCAA 2025 tournament was finalized after the seeded n ° 1 eliminated the seeded n ° 1 Auburn and the seeded n ° 1 Houston gathered to stun the Duke n ° 1 in the last four games of four years. The cougars have opened as a favorite in 1 point in the match against the Gators, which will take place on Monday evening at 9:20 p.m. on CBS.
For the 11th time in the history of the NCAA tournament, two heads of series N ° 1 will meet for the national title. Here is everything you need to know before the marquee match between Florida and Houston.
How the Gators arrived here
The Florida route to the title match was full of twists and turns. The Gators had to rally to survive an upset offer of the Double National Champion Riding Uconn in the second round of the NCAA tournament and overcome a deficit of 10 points with less than 6 minutes at Texas Tech in the elite eight to move forward. Florida dragged up to nine points against Auburn in the national semi-finals, but qualified for the game for the Stout Guard game of Walter Clayton Jr.
Florida in the NCAA tournament
The star of Walter Clayton Jr. has been shining in the performance of the Final Four for ages, sending Florida in the national title match
Matt Norlander
How the cougars arrived here
The Houston path to the match for the national title was full of exciting finishes. The cougars held a furious return offer on Gonzaga in the second round, eliminated Purdue in Sweet 16 after Milos Uzan marked a bucket with just over 1 second and made one of the most remarkable returns in the history of the NCAA tournament against Duke in the last four. The cougars dragged up to 14 points with a little more than 8 minutes before using a huge race to propel the cougars to the title game. Houston closed the match on a 9-0 race against Duke.
Houston in the NCAA tournament
How the gators and the cougars correspond: Florida has some of the best depths in the area before any team in the country. Gators can wear teams due to the number of players in which they can run in and go out, but Houston will offer a unique test. The front zone of cougars is grainy and difficult, and that is part of the reason why Houston finished as defense n ° 1 (58.3 points per game).
Houston also has the best -classified 3 -point shooting offensive led by shooters -LJ Cryer and Milos Uzan. Florida has the best guard of this game (Clayton), and it will take a group effort to contain it. The Gators rank n ° 5 as a percentage of offensive rebound (38.9%). The team that wins the battle inside the painting will probably be the last standing team on Monday evening in San Antonio.
What is at stake: For the second time in the history of the NCAA Tournament and the first time since 2008, the four heads of standard n ° 1 reached the Final Four. It doesn’t matter who won the two national semi-final games on Saturday, university basketball fans owed a match match for the epic title. Florida will envisage its first national title since 2007, when the program won national consecutive championships under former coach Billy Donovan. Florida coach Todd Golden has taken over this program in one of the best in sport, and winning a national title during the 3rd year would do wonders for his curriculum vitae.
Houston is looking for his first national title in the history of the program. The cougars lost the national match twice in the mid -1980s and reached the Final Four in 2021 before losing against the possible National Baylor champion. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is one of the best sports coaches who has not yet won a national title, and a victory for cougars would greatly contribute to his heritage and cement him as one of the greatest coaches in the history of university basketball.