Posted April 7Apr 7 Moderator Men's 2025 national championship game preview: Keys for Houston, Florida - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM With the championship on the line, what must Florida and Houston do to prevail -- and what could stop them?
April 7Apr 7 Moderator Florida opened -1.5, now down to -1. O/U 141.5. In consideration of the Houston D, I think the Under could be a solid bet.
April 7Apr 7 Author Moderator If defense does win championships. my pick of Florida is in trouble, and usually a team is more successful slowing a game down, rather than the other team speeding it up. So, what possible chance does Florida have?
April 7Apr 7 I don't have a pick, or particular bias between the two, but I probably would be happy to see "the old guy" Kelvin Sampson get the win. 69- Sampson 68- Jim Calhoun, 2011 68- Coach K, 2015 66- Roy Williams, 2017 66- Phog Allen, 1952 64- John Wooden, 1975 Allen was oldest to win his first title, next "first" was Lute Olson (62) in 1997. Though Sampson would "beat" them both. Geno Auriemma is 71. I believe Rick Barnes (70) and Dana Altman (66) are oldest active Power 4 coaches to not have won a championship.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Due to their defense, rebounding, Houston averages 10 shot attempts more than their opponents, if Florida can cut that by half, that's a win.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Midway through the 1st half, Houston leads 16-10, 22 shots attempted, 12 for Florida.
April 8Apr 8 I've see Olajuwon on the sidelines at the Final Four....has anyone seen Clyde lurking about?
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator 31- 28. Houston. The game is being controlled by Houston. playing their tempo, more attempted shots, but Florida has more rebounds, Florida also has more turnovers, and 0 points from Clayton.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Alright, Clayton just scored his first points of the game, with 7:54 left, and can tie it up with a free throw. Tied.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Free throws give Florida the lead for the first time since it was 8-6. 46.5 left.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Houston dribbles the ball out of bounds. Florida has the ball and a 1 point lead, 26.6 left. Free throws for Florida, misses the first, makes the 2nd. Florida 65 63. 19.7 left.
April 8Apr 8 Moderator On 4/7/2025 at 11:11 PM, 30Duck said: Florida wins, 65-63! Along with those who bet the Under. 😍 Thanks for your great CBB posts and takes. Heck of a comeback by the Gators.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Great tournament. Shows why March Madness is absolutely the best event in sports!!
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator Florida rallies once again to beat Houston for NCAA title - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Florida rallied from a 12-point deficit to survive a defensive slugfest vs. Houston and earn the program its third national championship...
April 8Apr 8 Again Florida did what Florida does: rallies like crazy to win games late. Rarely do they lose the close ones in the last two minutes of a game. The last time they did so: In the second to last week of the regular season against...the Georgia Bulldawgs! So at least we beat the national champs this year, only not when it really counted. It is hard for a Dawg fan to feel great about a Gator triumph, and I couldn't help rooting for Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars to kiss the trophy. But it is also hard to not admire the way this Florida team stood up, time and time again, to adversity this year and managed to prevail in the end. Congrats to a gutty bunch of kids. And Houston really is a beast on defense, aren't they?
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator On 4/7/2025 at 10:21 PM, Nevada Dawg said: And Houston really is a beast on defense, aren't they? They are. But last night, Florida was better. Florida shot 39.6 from the field, 25% on 3's. Houston shot 34.8% from the field, 24% on 3's. Florida did have 13 TO's, compared to 9 for Houston, but the Gators won the battle on the boards, 40 to 39.
April 8Apr 8 Moderator Jay Williams Calls Out Schizo Champ Game Refs - 🤪 Jay Williams calls out national championship officials for calling second half like 'a ballet' - On3 WWW.ON3.COM Williams was frustrated for the players in how differently the national title game was officiated from the first half to the second.
April 8Apr 8 Author Moderator The discrepancy was obvious between the twenty minutes coming out of halftime. Four fouls were called in the first half before 26 were called for in the second, including five immediately on the Gators in just over the two and a half minutes coming out of the break that resulted in a controversial technical foul on their bench. Add in a no-call on a pretty clear goal tend, which ended up making a difference in a two-point margin, and the outing ended up earning criticism for the officials before it was over with. Swallowing your whistle shouldn't be the plan for the Refs, maybe they could have called more in the 1st half. That's a huge discrepancy. Baseball players get an idea of the strike zone, it would be completely wrong if it changed as much as the 1st & 2nd half did here. Ironic, that the game ends because the Houston player knew it would be a double-dribble if he touched the ball in the last seconds, so could only stand and watch.
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