The one-seed Florida basketball (35-4, 14-4 SEC) duke it out against the Houston Cougars (35-4, 19-1 Big 12) and head coach Kelvin Sampson for the National Championship crown in the NCAA Tournament on Monday (April 7).
Florida opened up as a slight favorite in the National Championship Game vs. Houston set for Monday night at 6:50 p.m. CT for the tipoff for the contest (per FanDuel).
In the second half, the Gators outlasted the Auburn Tigers from the SEC for its first win in the Final Four for the men's program in over a decade (since 2014). Florida is playing a de facto road game for the national title at the Alamodome in San Antonio early this coming week on April 7.
Attack from the three-point line
The Gators have successfully reigned three-point field goals amid this deep NCAA Tournament run, including nearly double-digit three-pointers made per game in the past five contests this postseason for Florida offensively. Led by guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, the Gators managed eight three-pointers in the Final Four win over Auburn.
Clayton has been red hot shooting the basketball over the past few games, making all but one of over 20 free throw attempts from the line and scoring over 30 points per game since the Elite Eight clutch win over Texas Tech.
Martin also contributed double-digit scoring and a couple of clutch three-pointers to help the Gators beat Auburn by multiple possessions on Saturday evening (April 5).
Setting the tone offensively involves the Gators getting the ball in the hands of their primary initiators and go-to scorers, Martin and Clayton, on the offensive end. Stretching the floor offensively and getting into the paint by attacking the basket in the settled half court offense gives Florida a chance to dent the No. 1 ranked Houston defense this game for the national title (according to defensive rating).
When opponents have made double-digit three-point field goals on Houston this past regular season, Sampson and the Cougars are 1-2, including losses to the Red Raiders from the Big 12 and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Force the issue in transition on the offensive end
Head coach Todd Golden and the Gators play at a very fast pace in transition and on the offensive end of the floor, pushing the tempo consistently in the SEC. Florida was one of just four SEC teams this past regular season that averaged over 70 possessions per 40 minutes.
This will be a fantastic matchup between a stifling Houston perimeter and paint-focused defense, which ranks in the top fifth percentile in college hoops in second-chance opponent points and opponent fastbreak scoring per game.
Florida led the SEC in fastbreak scoring during the regular season, averaging nearly 16 transition points per game (per CBB Analytics).
The Gators have only one loss this season when scoring at least 15 fastbreak points.
Run LJ Cryer off the three-point line in clutch time in the second half
The key to getting in a tactic position to beat the Cougars and Sampson in the second half is getting to the 70-point mark on the scoreboard going into clutch time.
Senior guard LJ Cryer has shown the clutch gene for the Cougars in the Big 12 and this postseason in the NCAA Tournament since the second round. Cryer leads Houston in clutch time scoring in the second half this postseason in the NCAA Tournament.
Since the Round of 32 in the Big Dance, Cryer has scored over two dozen points twice, including 26 in the clutch second-half win in the Final Four on Saturday night over Cooper Flagg and Duke.
Houston showed with its frantic clutch time comeback scoring pace against Duke in the Final Four victory that it can clamp down when it matters most on the defensive end if the game is still within reach on the scoreboard late.