In a historic win, the Florida Gators have taken home the trophy for the first time since 2007, beating the Houston Cougars with a final score of 65-63. The entire game was chaotic from start to finish, with fans across both teams watching with bated breath, never having a moment to breathe for the entire game. 

The championship game was a close one, with Houston taking the lead for the majority of the time. Over the entire course of the game, the Gators only held the lead for an accumulative 64 seconds. But it doesn’t matter how long you hold that lead — only who’s got it at that final buzzer. 

As the game went into the second half, Houston in the lead, the Cougars began to look fatigued, and the Gators knew this look well, seizing their opportunities as they came to pull ahead whenever they could. 

The final five minutes of the game were electric — Houston leading by a small margin, but refusing to give up. The Gators were not a team used to quitting, having scored many close comebacks throughout the season leading up to the championship. Ultimately, it is hard to even describe the explosive finish to the game — those final few seconds feeling straight out of a movie. 

With 46.5 seconds left in the game, Gators #15 Alijah Martin would shoot free throws, bringing the score into the Gator’s favor with a 64-63. Houston would fight to get a point, to at least tie up the game. An out-of-bounds call would be confirmed, and the Florida Gators would get the ball with only 26.6 seconds left in the game. With 19.7 seconds left, a foul was called, after contact between Gators #11 Denzel Aberdeen and Cougars #7 Milos Uzan, giving Florida the ball once again at the free throw line which Aberdeen would miss on the first attempt, but sink on the second, bringing the score to 65-63. 

The entire stadium was tense, watching as these final seconds would determine the fate of the championship game. With 19.7 seconds left and a two point lead. 

The Cougars had the ball. Cougars #21 Emanuel Sharp would receive the ball with only 5.3 seconds remaining. He would jump, but he would let go of the ball. If he touched it again at that point, it would have been called a travel. 

Gators #21 Alex Condon would be the one to dive for the ball, snatching it only barely and throwing it, to #1 Walter Clayton Jr. who had the ball as the final buzzer sounded, marking the end of the championship game with a final score of 65-63.

This win comes as the culmination of an entire season of determination and comebacks. This sets the University of Florida apart as not only having three National Basketball Championship wins, but also as the only college to have both three National Basketball Championship wins as well as three National Football Championship wins. 

This season itself has been one for the books, as the Gators have repeatedly had close call games, managing to come back from being behind for large portions of the game. Despite often being underestimated, the Gators maintain that no quit grit that the fans love them for. 

One of the teams that the Gators had to beat in the Final Four to make it to the National Championship was the Auburn Tigers, who were ranked #1. The Gators had previously beaten the Tigers during the regular season, however this did not knock Auburn’s ranking. Going into the Final Four, Auburn was favored to win, but Gator fans knew that the team could prevail. The Gators would snag the win, 79-73. 

The championship game wasn’t just important for Florida students, but the game was an absolutely thrilling one for anybody tuning in. Guilford College student Jacie Livengood followed March Madness, and wasn’t too surprised about the Gators’ victory. 

“Over the course of March Madness, Florida has time and time again shown that they are a dominant team on the court,” said Livengood in regards to the victory. “Their in-game strategy is unmatched, which is why they won the championship the way they did; diving save, up by two points.”