Walter Clayton Jr. went scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the game, but came alive late to help the Florida Gators rally from a 12-point deficit and stun the Houston Cougars in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game on Monday.
The All-American guard, held without a point in the first half, scored nine of his 11 points in the final eight minutes to lift Florida to a dramatic 65-63 victory in San Antonio. The Gators, who led for just 63 seconds in total, secured their third national title in program history.
“My teammates carried me until I could get going,” said Clayton, who was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, during a CBS interview.
The win marked one of the largest comebacks ever in a Division I championship game, tying for third all-time. It also ended Houston’s nation-best 18-game winning streak and dashed their hopes of claiming a first national title.
“We’ve had to come back a lot in this tournament,” said Gators head coach Todd Golden. “This group has shown incredible poise. They’re fighters, they’re winners. They just find a way.”
Florida shot just 37.9% in the first half but improved to 45.4% in the second, while Houston cooled off to 31.2%. After missing all four of his first-half shots, Clayton went 3-for-6 from the field and made all four of his free throws after the break.
Senior guard Will Richard helped keep Florida afloat early, scoring 14 of his 18 points before halftime. Sophomore forward Alex Condon added 12 points and seven rebounds. Houston’s L.J. Cryer led all scorers with 19 points and was the only Cougar to score in double digits.
Houston’s relentless defense smothered Florida for much of the game, creating turnovers and shutting down Clayton, one of the nation’s top scorers. The Cougars led most of the way, jumping out to a 10-2 run after Florida briefly took the first lead and entering halftime up 31-28.
The Cougars opened the second half with an 11-2 surge, building a 42-30 lead—Florida’s largest deficit of the tournament. Clayton finally got on the board with two free throws five minutes into the second half, sparking a Gators rally.
Florida responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap, though Cryer briefly halted the momentum with a three-pointer. Still, the Gators kept pushing, tying the game at 48-48.
Clayton made his first field goal with just under eight minutes to go, converting a layup through contact and sinking the free throw to tie the score. After a cold stretch for Houston, Clayton again pulled Florida even with another three-point play.
The teams traded big shots down the stretch, with Emanuel Sharp hitting a key three-pointer for Houston. But Clayton hit a huge game-tying three with just over three minutes to play.
Senior guard Alijah Martin gave Florida the lead for good on two free throws with 46 seconds left. Denzel Aberdeen added another free throw with 19 seconds remaining, and Clayton helped force a late turnover, leading to Condon diving on the final loose ball to seal the victory.