(1) Florida 65, (1) Houston 63
Alamodome | San Antonio, Texas
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2025/4/8/2025.04.07_Florida_vs._Houston.PDF> | Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/documents/2025/1/23/2024-25_UFstats.pdf> | Courtesy Photos & Press Conferences<https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rb8ojhaf9ygpi6d0k3c9e/ANF6-ow4Wppu1j1zjAsnMXA?rlkey=g1esu5ww8r31yd8dyekcik5iw&st=3b1ht5u5&dl=0>
* NCAA Tournament Digital Media Hub<https://sites.google.com/view/d1mbbchamp/home>
* Press Conference Transcripts<https://asaptext.com/ncaatranscripts/>
Records: Florida 36-4, 14-4 SEC; Houston 35-5, 19-1 Big 12
Notable
* Florida rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to claim its third national championship (2006, 2007). After falling behind 42-30 with 16:24 to play, Florida outscored Houston 35-21 over the rest of the game.
* Will Richard led the Gators with 18 points, while Alex Condon scored 12 and Walter Clayton Jr. added 11.
* Clayton earned Most Outstanding Player honors. All 11 of his points came in the second half, and he added seven assists and five rebounds.
* Richard also earned Final Four All-Tournament Team honors. He scored 14 of the Gators’ 28 first-half points, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
* Clayton averaged a Florida-record 23.9 points in his seven NCAA Tournament games as a Gator. His 167 total points rank third all-time in Florida NCAA Tournament history in just seven games. Every other Gator in the top 10 played at least 13 tournament games.
* Florida wins its third national championship, joining the 2006 and 2007 teams.
* In his nine postseason games this season spanning the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, Clayton averaged 21.8 points per game and shot .458 from 3-point range with 3.7 3-point field goals per game.
* Clayton (713 points), Alijah Martin (546) and Richard (531) are the highest-scoring trio in a season in Florida history.
* Florida extended its single-season record with its 12th top-25 win, 10 of which have come vs. teams in the top 12. Nine of those ranked wins have come since March 1.
* Florida closed the season on a 12-game winning streak and won 18 of its last 19.
* Clayton finishes his career with an active streak of 62 straight appearances with a 3-pointer.
* Clayton’s 117 3-point field goals this season rank second in Florida history (Michael Frazier II, 118, 2013-14).
* Florida has gone 8-2 this season in top-10 matchups, knocking off the second-ranked Cougars to win the championship. Prior to this season, the Gators had gone 6-16 all-time in top-10 matchups.
* Florida’s 36 wins match the program record set in 2013-14.
* Todd Golden’s six NCAA Tournament wins trail only Billy Donovan’s 35 in Florida history.
* At 39, Golden is the youngest head coach to win a national championship since Jim Valvano in 1983.
* Florida’s path to winning the National Championship tied for the toughest of all-time for a No. 1 seed since the tournament expanded in 1985. The combined seed total for the Gators’ opponents was 33: 16 (Norfolk State), 8 (UConn), 4 (Maryland), 3 (Texas Tech), 1 (Auburn) and 1 (Houston). North Carolina’s 1993 team also had a combined seed total of 33.
* The 2025 Final Four had a combined margin of victory of 11 through the three games, which ranks in a tie for second in the past 50 years (1977 and 2017 were also 11, 1982 was 10).
* The 12-point deficit overcome is tied for the third largest ever in the National Championship (1998 Kentucky vs. Utah). It was the largest comeback in a title game since Kansas rallied from a 16-point deficit to North Carolina in 2022.
Florida All-Sports Success
* Florida is the only program to win at least one national team title in each fully contested season since 2008-09. This is Florida’s 28th national title in that span. Florida’s 28 titles since 2008-09 is tied for second (Stanford: 41; Southern Cal 28)
* Gator men’s basketball claims Florida’s 49th national team title.
* Sixteen Gator sports have won national team titles. That is the nation’s fourth highest array of sport titles for a program (and highest east of Mississippi). Florida’s 16 leads Southeastern Conference programs (Georgia is second with national titles in 10 NCAA sanctioned sports).
* Since 2008-09 season, Florida’s 28 national titles have come in 13 different sports.
Single-Season Records
* Wins: 36 (tied, 2013-14)
* Top-25 wins: 12
* Points, team: 3,391
* Field Goals made, team: 1,182
* Points: Walter Clayton Jr., 713
* Points, single NCAA Tournament: Walter Clayton Jr., 134
All-Time Career Scoring at Florida
* 24th, Walter Clayton Jr., 1,346
* 33rd, Will Richard, 1,275
Top-10 Finishes, Individual Single Season
* 3-point field goals: 2nd, Walter Clayton Jr., 117
* Offensive rebounds: 3rd, Alex Condon, 103
* Steals: 4th, Will Richard, 66
Top-10 Finishes, Florida Career
* Free throw percentage: 2nd, Walter Clayton Jr., .876
* Scoring average: 6th, Walter Clayton Jr., 17.9
* 3-point field goals: 10th, Walter Clayton Jr., 210
Top-10 Finishes, Team Single Season
* Points per game: 2nd, 84.8
* Scoring margin: 3rd, +15.2
* Blocked shots: 4th, 179
* Assists: 5th, 619
* Steals: 6th, 296
* Dunks: t-2nd, 160
Florida’s All-Time National Championships (49)
SPORT
YEAR
NATIONAL TITLES
Men’s Basketball
2025
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2024
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2023
NCAA Championships
Men’s Golf
2023
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2022
NCAA Championships
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
2022
NCAA Championships
Women’s Indoor Track & Field
2022
NCAA Championships
Men’s Tennis
2021
NCAA Championships
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
2019
NCAA Championships
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
2018
NCAA Championships
Baseball
2017
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2017
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
2017
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2016
NCAA Championships
Softball
2015
NCAA Championships
Women’s Gymnastics
2015
NCAA Championships
Softball
2014
NCAA Championships
Women’s Gymnastics
2014
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2013
NCAA Championships
Women’s Gymnastics
2013
NCAA Championships
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
2012
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
2012
NCAA Championships
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
2012
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
2011
NCAA Championships
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
2011
NCAA Championships
Women’s Swimming
2010
NCAA Championships
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
2010
NCAA Championships
2008
BCS/Associated Press
Men’s Basketball
2007
NCAA Championships
Football
2006
BCS/Associated Press
Men’s Basketball
2006
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
2003
NCAA Championships
Men’s Golf
2001
NCAA Championships
Soccer
1998
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
1998
NCAA Championships
Football
1996
Associated Press/Coaches’
Women’s Tennis
1996
NCAA Championships
Men’s Golf
1993
NCAA Championships
Women’s Tennis
1992
NCAA Championships
Women’s Indoor Track
1992
NCAA Championships
Women’s Golf
1986
NCAA Championships
Women’s Golf
1985
NCAA Championships
Men’s Swimming
1984
NCAA Championships
Men’s Swimming
1983
NCAA Championships
Women’s Swimming
1982
NCAA Championships
Gymnastics
1982
AIAW Nationals
Women’s Swimming
1979
AIAW Nationals
Men’s Golf
1973
NCAA Championships
Men’s Golf
1968
NCAA Championships
