5 reasons why Florida was able to come back to beat Houston for the national title win

The Florida Gators and Houston Cougars played a hard-fought battle for the 2025 college basketball national championship. It was a close game at halftime, with the Cougars up by three. But a strong start to the second half allowed them to go up by as much as 12 points.

However, as with the other two games in the Final Four, the Gators went on a run of its own to eventually take the lead late. A last defensive stop allowed them to get the 65-63 win to get the national championship. 

Here are some takeaways from the game that helped decide the outcome.

1. Will Richard’s key first-half

It was a rough first 20 minutes for Florida’s two leading scorers (Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin), combining for just 2 points on 1/9 FG shooting. But they were saved by the third starting guard Richard, who produced 14 points in the first half, making 4/6 from three-point range. He finished with 18 points overall and while he was quiet in the final 20 minutes, Richard’s shots early on kept the Gators in it.

2. Walter Clayton going from zero to “hero” in second half

In the first five games of the NCAA Tournament, Clayton averaged around 24 ppg, including some huge plays to get the team to the title game. So it was a shock to see him scoreless through the first 24 minutes against Houston, though the Cougars did do a good job of preventing him from getting open space. But once Clayton got going, he made his presence known, scoring all 11 points in the second half, including a few three-point plays. His seven assists were also important in getting others involved while he was struggling early.

3. Frontcourt depth wearing down the Cougars bigs

Houston’s tough interior frontcourt was going to be a major challenge for the Gators’ bigs, who admittedly struggled against Auburn. Early on, the Cougars got four offensive rebounds and forced some turnovers on the bigs. To Florida’s credit, they got better as the game went on, helping cause foul trouble to the starters, while Alex Condon finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. The guards will get most of the credit, but in the end, Florida’s frontcourt did its job in the victory.

4. Defense holding Houston to just 5 assists

Rightfully, there was a lot of talk about Houston’s elite defense. And they did held the potent Gators to just 68 points. But Florida’s defense was fantastic in its own right, limiting Houston to just 31% FG shooting, 6/25 from deep and a season-low five assists, which Clayton outdid on his own. Florida’s defense was just as important to the win as its offense.

5. Todd Golden’s rise to national champion

Coach Golden is a former Saint Mary’s player who coached in the same conference as two of the all-time active greats, Mark Few (Gonzaga) and Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s). He clearly wasn’t at their level when he first started coaching San Francisco, but he got hired at Florida after leading the Dons to the NCAA Tournament. His adjustments and sets were on display in the Final Four, finding ways to outcoach the likes of Bruce Pearl and Kelvin Sampson. Just three years later, Golden went from a “rising star” to one of the best in the game, now with the national championship on his resume.