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The Florida Gators and Houston Cougars have built two of the best programs in college basketball, but only one of these schools will reach the top after meeting in the 2025 NCAA Tournament National Championship game on Monday night. Florida is led by the dynamic guard trio of Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard, while Houston’s defense has been the best in the nation statistically. The Cougars ranked first in the nation in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, while the Gators ranked second in adjusted offensive efficiency, so it will be a battle of strength on strength.
The Alamodome in San Antonio is hosting the 2025 Final Four and tipoff for Monday’s national championship game is set for 8:50 p.m ET on CBS. The Gators are 1-point favorites in the latest Florida vs. Houston odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 141.5. Before making any Houston vs. Florida picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine expert Bruce Marshall.
Marshall enters this matchup on a 105-73-1 roll (+2384) over his last 179 college basketball picks on SportsLine. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.
Now, he has set his sights on Houston vs. Florida and just locked in his national championship predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Florida vs. Houston:
- Florida vs. Houston spread: Florida -1
- Florida vs. Houston over/under: 141.5 points
- Florida vs. Houston money line: Florida -115, Houston -104
- FLA: Florida has covered in 14 of its last 18 games
- HOU: Houston has covered in five of its last seven games
- Florida vs. Houston picks: See who to back at SportsLine
Why Florida can cover
After being eliminated the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Gators bounced back to earn the No. 1 seed in the West and Todd Golden’s tempo created problems for just about every team they faced. Florida ranked 18th in the nation in field-goal attempts per game and third in scoring average (85.3 ppg).
“Florida faced all comers this season in the loaded SEC (a bit deeper than the Big 12), and avenged the one game where it got knocked off its pins at Knoxville by handling Tennessee in the SEC Tourney and scoring 86 points in the process. The extreme big-play abilities of Clayton and Alijah Martin, and versatility of the 6-foot-9 Thomas Haugh, present some different challenges for Houston,” Marshall told SportsLine. See which team to pick here.
Why Houston can cover
Kelvin Sampson’s strong and athletic bigs J’Wan Roberts & Joseph Tugler attacked Duke’s length and eventually wore down the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, LJ Cryer went 6-for-9 from the 3-point line and Emanuel Sharp went 3-for-7 from beyond the arc to help shoot the Cougars into the national championship.
However, this team is built first and foremost to defend and they do it incredibly well. The Cougars only allowed 58.5 points per game on the season and have only allowed one opponent (Gonzaga) to top the 70-point mark during a current 18-game winning streak. See which team to pick here.
How to make Houston vs. Florida picks
Marshall has evaluated the Florida vs. Houston matchup from every angle and is leaning over on the point total. He’s also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping on one side of the spread. You can only find out what it is, and see which side of the spread to back, at SportsLine.
So who wins Houston vs. Florida, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about before the 2025 NCAA National Championship Game? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Florida vs. Houston spread to jump on, all from the expert on a 105-73 roll on his college basketball picks this season, and find out.
