If It's Houston, And If It's The Final Four, Well, Florida Had To Win
They had this Monday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and not just because the college basketball budget for the Houston Cougars of Phi Slama Jama lore was $11.1 million this season compared to $8.4 million for the Florida Gators, who traditionally care more about blocking and tackling than picks and rolls.
Houston owned that 12-point lead during the championship game of the Final Four on the verge of the school's first national title.
'Yeah, I'm just going through those last two possessions more than anything else,' Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told me and other reporters after 'those last two possesions' for the Cougars were bungled along the way to that 12-point lead becoming a 65-63 loss when his team forgot how to score.
'Incomprehensible in that sitaution we couldn't get a shot, couldnt't get a shot,' Sampson said, repeating himself since he still couldn't believe what he witnessed moments earlier.
And, yes, it was incomprehensible.
In fact, with the Cougars ahead 42-30 to continue their first-half explosiveness against Florida inside the closing 16 minutes, you could see it.
You could feel it.
You also could hear it since most of the packed house of 66,602 folks in the Alamodome weren't exactly doing Gator Claps across the way.
Those among the sea of Houston red, which stretched from near courtside to the back parts of the upper deck, knew this one was for Hakeem Olajuwon.
And for Clyde Drexler.
And for Guy Lewis.
And for the rest of those Phil Slama Jama folks who spent three consecutive Final Four appearances through 1984 (in order) dribbling too young for the moment against North Carolina and some guy named Michael Jordan, failing to counter the pixie dust of Jim Valvano's North Carolina State miracle bunch and lacking the NBA-departed Olajuwon to slay Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 07: Walter Clayton Jr. #1 of the Florida Gators celebrate a win during ... More the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game at Alamodome on April 07, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Actually, Florida had to win, and the Gators promptly did just that after they kept clawing back when Houston went from flawless during most of the evening to dreadful when it counted the most.
Here's why Florida had to win: It has been all about the Gators and most of their conference pals throughout March Madness, otherwsise known as the SEC Invitational. A record 14 of the SEC's 16 teams made the men's NCAA basketball tournament this time, and that included Florida and Auburn as No. 1 seeds.
Auburn was the No. 1 overall seed.
Even so, the Gators shocked the Tigers in Saturday's semifinals of the Final Four after overcoming a nine-point deficit in the second half. Florida also surged to victory during the Elite Eight after trailing Texas Tech by 10 points.
The Gators finished 7-4 this season when down at halftime along the way to the SEC's first national championship since Kentucky in 2012. That was back during the dark ages when the SEC hugged only football.
Now, courtesy of the conference's growing love affair with hoops, its already hefty payroll from 11 different schools appearing in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014 (including six national championship teams) got fatter this spring.
The NCAA calculates the March Madness money it sends to each conference by the number of teams in each conference participating in games before the championship game.
Since the SEC played 35 tournament games this season, the conference will get approximately $70 million, which is another NCAA record.
Much of the credit for the SEC's mighty basketball payday goes to Florida finding ways to make Todd Golden the youngest head coach ever to win a men's Final Four since the tournament expanded in 1985.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 07: Head coach Todd Golden of the Florida Gators celebrates after ... More defeating the Houston Cougars in the National Championship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on April 07, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by)
'I mean, I'm super proud obviously, but I'm just a piece of the puzzle,' said Golden, the 39-year-old (and nine months) owner of 13 double-digit comebacks during his three years with the Gators. 'I've been able to put together an incredible staff and recruit great student-athletes over these last three years.'
There was Walter Clayton Jr., for instance.
Clayton became the 2025 Final Four's Most Outstanding Player with his 134 points over the six tournament games. That said, Will Richard is Florida's other guard, and he did the most to keep his team from vanishing totally on offense in the first half with 14 of the Gators' 28 points overall.
Then came the second half, when Florida surged and Houston slumped, but Houston is known to do such things.
Ask those Phil Slama Jama folks.
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