An NCAA Tournament defined by its lack of suspense came down to its final possession Monday.
Florida won its third national championship 65-63 by overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit and making one final defensive stand.
Houston got the ball back with 19 seconds left but could not get a final shot off. Catching a pass well beyond the 3-point line with five seconds left, Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp jumped for what would have been a game-winning attempt but pump-faked seeing the defense of Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.
Sharp avoided traveling by bouncing the ball while he was in the air, but a teammate could not rush over in time to grab it and throw up an attempt in time before the clock ran out.
Houston was denied what would have been its first national title. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, 69, was trying to win his 800th career game and become the oldest coach ever to win a men’s basketball title. Instead, he was left frozen after the final possession gone wrong, and it was 39-year-old Gators coach Todd Golden who sprinted onto the floor under a flood of confetti after the final buzzer.
The back-and-forth comeback capped a tournament that had delivered few surprises during its first two weeks, as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since the tournament expanded in 1985. The favorites may have prevailed, yet rarely in straightforward fashion, after Houston and Florida required dramatic comebacks in the semifinals against Duke and Auburn to even make it to Monday night's title game.
Clutch Gators guard Clayton scored all 11 of his points in the second half and added seven assists, five rebounds and the title-sealing defensive closeout with seconds remaining. Teammate Will Richard kept Florida in the game during the team’s early struggles, with his 14 points accounting for half of the Gators’ halftime total.
L.J. Cryer scored 19 points to lead Houston, whose 18-game winning streak ended.
Though the teams’ season averages and tournament performances indicated Florida had the more explosive offense, Houston raced ahead to a 29-21 lead within 15 minutes as mistakes cost the Gators multiple scoring opportunities. Yet despite nine turnovers and only the second scoreless first half all season by Clayton, Florida trailed only 31-28 at halftime in the lowest-scoring first half of a championship game since 2011.
The position was familiar for Florida, which had prevailed previously in the tournament despite trailing by six in the tournament’s round of 32, by 10 in the Elite Eight and by nine in Saturday’s semifinal.
That resiliency was tested again quickly. With 16 minutes to play in the second half, Houston took its largest lead, at 42-30, as Florida endured a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes. Yet Florida scored eight unanswered points to cut into the lead, 45-42, with 12:06 left.
Four minutes later, Florida forced a tie after Clayton scooped in a left-handed layup for his first field goal, then added a free throw after being fouled.
Clayton leveled the score again at 60 with less than three minutes to play when he made his first 3-pointer of the night on his sixth attempt — the 11th tie of the game.
At last, Florida took the lead with 46 seconds to play after free throws by Alijah Martin pushed it ahead 64-63. And it got a critical break with 26 seconds left when Sharp, the guard who helped save Houston's season in a comeback win Saturday against Duke, dribbled through traffic and had the ball poked away, rolling out of bounds, giving it back to Florida with an opportunity to grow its lead.
Unlike Duke in the national semifinal Saturday, Florida survived Houston’s full-court press to advance the ball but missed one of its next two free throws to give Houston the ball back with 19 seconds left and an opportunity to win its first national title.
The possession did not result in a shot for Houston, delivering a title for Florida.
Florida celebrates victory
Final: Florida 65, Houston 63
The Gators overcame a 14-point deficit to win their first national championship since 2007.
Houston can’t get a shot off! Florida wins!
What a finish! Houston couldn’t get a shot off on their final possession after Emanuel Sharp almost committed a double dribble, and time expired as players scrambled for the ball on the floor.
Houston has the ball trailing 65-63
After Denzel Aberdeen hit only 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, the Cougars will have the ball down by 2 with 19.7 to go.
Turnover, Houston!
Emanuel Sharp dribbled the ball off his leg in the face of Florida pressure and the Gators will have the ball with a 64-63 lead with 26.5 seconds to go.
Florida leads 64-63 with 46.5 seconds to go
Florida is in the lead after two Alijah Martin free throws, their first lead since being ahead 8-6 in the first half.
Houston up 1 with 1:21 left
Houston leads 63-62 with 2:05 to go
The teams are trading buckets here late as the action is getting intense.
Houston up 3, with 3 minutes left
What began as the lowest-scoring first half in a title game since 2011 has become a back-and-forth nailbiter that will come down to the final possessions. With 3:24 to play, Houston leads 60-57. Houston is shooting 66 percent on free throws so far, while Florida is at 80 percent. That could come into play in these final moments.
