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The final night of the season has arrived with a title game for the ages as No. 1 seeds Florida and Houston conclude the 2025 NCAA Tournament in the national championship game Monday night. Being part of the second-ever all-No. 1-seed Final Four was already an honor, and now even more is on the line.
For Florida, the semifinals were defined by its halftime response. The Gators came out of the locker room with urgency and physicality, taking control of a game that Auburn led at the break. The two teams exchanged haymakers throughout the second half, but it was the Gators who had more gas late. They again got some stellar plays in crunch time from Walter Clayton Jr. After overcoming deficits against UConn, Texas Tech and now Auburn, Florida is a group that can’t be counted out until the final buzzer sounds.
But the same can be said about Houston, which trailed Duke by as many as 14 points in the second half and faced a six-point deficit in the final minute, only to roll off a 9-0 run in the last 33 seconds to win. It was an all-time comeback in an all-time Final Four game, but the Cougars do not want the story to end there. Houston has made seven Final Four appearances since 1967 and finished as the national runner-up twice (1983, 1984) but has never won a national championship in men’s basketball. The glory gained from beating the Blue Devils is even sweeter if it’s followed by a program first — cutting down the nets Monday night.
Houston’s Duke stunner ‘ain’t no beauty contest’ but keeps Kelvin Sampson dancing and Hakeem Olajuwon smiling
As you might expect from a matchup between two of the top four seeds and two of the best teams in the country throughout the season, the margins are extremely thin when it comes to the odds to win. Our panel of experts has weighed in with picks below, and we’ve got a best bet for the game as well.
Odds via SportsLine consensus | All times Eastern
(1) Houston vs. (1) Florida
8:50 p.m. on CBS | Stream on Paramount+ and March Madness Live: Houston has held every NCAA Tournament opponent at least 10 points below its season scoring average, with Duke (83.2 PPG average) scoring just 67 in the Cougars’ thrilling comeback win on Saturday night. The expectation is Houston’s pace and defensive excellence will result in a bit less scoring for both teams than what this total suggests. It also shouldn’t be lost on anyone that both teams could be a step slow coming out of the gate after overcoming deficits in pair of grueling semifinal wins. There’s 3-point potential from both teams — especially with the likes of Walter Clayton Jr. and LJ Cryer — but the historical trends back up the notion that this sixth NCAA Tournament game will be low-scoring. The under is 10-4 in title games since 2010. Pick: Under 141.5
