The moment was never too big for Golden and the Florida Gators

“This team was built for this moment.” – Seth Greenberg

Four days later the urge to celebrate Florida’s national championship win over the Houston Cougars won’t go away. At some point, the party that erupted when the clock struck zero to secure the Gators’ 65-63 win over Houston will fizzle out but it might be weeks before the afterglow finally goes dim.

Perhaps the warm and fuzzies that every Gator is feeling right now have something to do with the fact that the last national championship in basketball was 2007 and the last football championship was 2008. It has been a long time between championships. Sure, since Tim Tebow and the Gators walked off the field in Miami with a national championship win over Oklahoma the Gators have won three national championships in gymnastics, two in softball, one in baseball and what seems like a half zillion in track and field, but there is something truly special winning on a big stage like the Alamodome with millions of people tuning in from all over the world to watch.

What made this one even more memorable was the fact the moment was never too big for Todd Golden and his marvelously constructed team, designed with championships in mind. Golden talked winning championships from the day he was hired back in the spring of 2022. Even if you believed he would deliver, did it ever dawn on you that it would happen so quickly?

Todd Golden did it in three years! Three years! Kelvin Sampson, coach of the vanquished Houston Cougars, has been a college basketball head coach (36 years) almost as long as Golden has been alive (39 years). Houston is Sampson’s fifth head coaching gig, fourth in Division I. He is still looking for his first national championship.

If anything, Kelvin Sampson reminds us just how special winning a national championship is. You can coach for decades and come so close to winning a national championship that you can taste it only to have that potential sweetness turn bitter in a matter of seconds. Monday night against Florida, Houston led for all but 63 seconds. The Cougars had three chances to score in the final minute but couldn’t squeeze off a shot.

Almost from the beginning of the season Houston was crowned as one of the truly great defensive teams in history, yet in the final 2:29 the Cougars were held scoreless by the Florida Gators. Houston was a great defensive team, no doubt about it. So was Florida.

“They did it with defense,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas admitted. Bilas was touting Florida as the best team in the country a month ago. When Auburn started fading, the rest of the country jumped on the Duke bandwagon, but not Bilas even though he was one of Coach K’s first great recruits back in the 1980s.

Bilas thought Duke was a very good team, but he thought Florida was better. When Duke went down in flames in San Antonio a good bit of public opinion shifted to Houston, but unlike Duke which crashed and burned under intense pressure, the Gators ratcheted up their defense to beat the Cougars at their own game.

As they did in wins over UConn in the NCAA second round, Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and Auburn in the semifinals, the Gators not only lived well in the moment, but they thrived. Merely good teams get swallowed up by the big moments. In winning the national championship, the Gators were always at their best when the difference between winning and losing hung in the balance.

The Gators were built for Monday night. The moment required their best and they had what it took to deliver. They were truly made for the moment.  

TOO EARLY TOP 25 FOR 2025-26

The Athletic: 1. Purdue; 2. FLORIDA; 3. Houston; 4. Louisville; 5. Michigan; 6. BYU; 7. Michigan State; 8. Auburn; 9. UConn; 10. Duke; 11. Arizona; 12. Texas Tech; 13. Alabama; 14. Iowa State; 15. Kansas; 16. North Carolina; 17. St. John’s; 18. Kentucky; 19. Creighton; 20. UCLA; 21. Illinois; 22. Missouri; 23. Arkansas; 24. Ohio State; 25. Tennessee

CBS Sports 25-and-1: 1. Houston; 2. Duke; 3. Purdue; 4. Alabama; 5. UConn; 6. UCLA; 7. Iowa State; 8. Arizona; 9. FLORIDA; 10. St. John’s; 11. Michigan; 12. Louisville; 13. Texas Tech; 14. Kentucky; 15. Auburn; 16. Michigan State; 17. Oregon; 18. BYU; 19. Kansas; 20. Texas; 21. Arkansas; 22. Ohio State; 23. Tennessee; 24. Wisconsin; 25. North Carolina; 26. Gonzaga

Sports Illustrated: 1. Houston; 2. Purdue; 3. Duke; 4. UConn; 5. Louisville; 6. Kansas; 7. BYU; 8. St. John’s; 9. UCLA; 10. Auburn; 11. FLORIDA; 12. Michigan; 13. Wisconsin; 14. Texas Tech; 15. Michigan State; 16. Kentucky; 17. Alabama; 18. Oregon; 19. Oregon; 19. Arizona; 20. Arkansas; 21. Baylor; 22. Gonzaga; 23. Iowa State; 24. Tennessee; 25. San Diego State

ESPN: 1. Houston; 2. Purdue; 3. Louisville; 4. UConn; 5. Michigan; 6. Kentucky; 7. Arkansas; 8. Duke; 9. St. John’s; 10. UCLA; 11. Alabama; 12. Auburn; 13. Iowa State; 14. Wisconsin; 15. Kansas; 16. BYU; 17. Arizona; 18. Michigan State; 19. FLORIDA; 20. Gonzaga; 21. Tennessee; 22. Texas Tech; 23. Ohio State; 24. Texas; 25. North Carolina

PORTAL PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Xaivian Lee, PG, Princeton (6-4, 180, JR): Florida is very much in the hunt for Lee, who was a high school teammate of Tommy Haugh. In Princeton’s funky motion offense he averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He’s a pure point who is comfortable playing off the ball so he would be a great match with Denzell Aberdeen.

AJ Brown SF/SG, Ohio U (6-4, 195, RSO): He’s the older brother of Florida freshman Isaiah Brown. As a senior at Orlando Christian Prep he was the best player on a team that included Ven Allen Lubin. He is a slasher who can pull up and hit the 3-ball (38.8 percent). Averaged 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds per game at Ohio last year. Can hit the 3-ball, take it to the rack and play some defense.

Kris Parker, SG/SF, Villanova (6-8, 200, FR): He’s a native of Quincy, who got 10 minutes off the bench as a true freshman at Villanova. Out of high school he was the No. 93 prospect in the country. He had a Florida offer but he was already committed to Nova when the Gators hired Todd Golden.

Dillon Mitchell, SF/PF, Cincinnati (6-8, 205, JR): He is a Florida kid from Spring Hill, who was the No. 5 player in the nation out of Bishop McLaughlin. He played two years at Texas, then transferred to Cincinnati where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.9 rebounds. He only has one year of eligibility, but he is a veteran presence who can play three positions and he is an outstanding defender.

Savo Drezgic, PG, Georgia (6-4, 200, FR): At last summer’s FIBA Eurobasket 18-and-under event where Todd Golden and UF staffers were present, Drezgic averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game. He played limited time for Mike White at Georgia but he’s got real skills.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Ben Henshall, SF, Perth, Australia (6-7, 200): He was a teammate on the international stage with Alex Condon. He could be entering the NBA Draft, but is likely to go the college route. In the FIBA Asia Cup he averaged 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds while shooting 35.7 percent from the 3-point line.

Omer Mayer, Tel Aviv, Israel (6-4, 185): At last year’s 18-and-under FIBA Euro he averaged 18.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Very good scorer and distributor who knows how to control the flow of the game with the ball in his hands. He has a contract with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Is it breakable?

SEC BASKETBALL IN THE PORTAL

Alabama: C Noah Williamson (7-0, 224, JR from Bucknell); SF Naas Cunningham (6-7, 175, FR); PF Taylor Bol Bowen (6-10, 205, SO, from Florida State); SF Mouhamed Diabate (6-7, 215, SO, to Kentucky); PF Jarin Stevenson ( 6-11, 210, SO)

Arkansas: SG Melo Sanchez (6-4, 185, JR); C Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2, 235, SO, to Illinois); PG Casmir Chavis (6-0, 180, FR)

Auburn: PF Keyshawn Hall (6-7, 240, JR, from UCF); SF Jahki Howard (6-6, 185, FR)

Georgia: SG Silas Demary Jr. (6-5, 195, JR) to UConn; SF RJ Godfrey (6-7, 225, JR to Clemson); SG De’Shayne Montgomery (6-4, 190, SO); PG Jeremiah Wilkinson (from California); PG Savo Drezgic (6-4, 200, FR)

Kentucky: PF Kam Williams (6-8, 190, FR from Tulane); PG Kerr Kriisa (6-3, 180, SR); PG Jaland Lowe (6-2, 170, SO, from Pittsburgh); SF Mouhamed Diabate (6-7, 215, SO, from Alabama); C Jayden Quaintance (6-9, 225, FR, from Arizona State)

LSU: PF Noah Boyde (7-0, 245, JR); SG Vyctorius Miller (6-5, 185, FR, to Oklahoma State); SG Mike Williams (6-3, 180, SO); PF Corey Chest (6-8, 220, FR); SF Tyrell Ward (6-6, 195, JR); C Michael Nwoko (6-10, 245, SO from Mississippi State); PG Dedan Thomas (6-1, 170, SO from UNLV); SG Rashad King (6-6, 198, JR, from Northeastern); SG Max Mackinnon (6-5, 200, JR from Portland); C Daimion Collins (6-9, 202, SR)

Mississippi State: SG Martavious Russell (6-3, 190, SO); C Michael Nwoko (6-10, 245, SO to LSU); PG Kanye Cleary (5-11, 190, JR, to Oregon State); C Jeremy Foumena (6-11, 235, SO); SF Adrian Myers (6-6, 205, FR); SG Riley Kugel (6-5, 210, JR); PG Ja’Bhorri McGhee (6-0, 200, FR, from UAB); SF KeShawn Murphy (6-10, 245, JR); C Quincy Ballard (6-11, 240, SR, from Wichita State)

Missouri: C Jevon Porter (6-11, 235, JR from Loyola Marymount); PF Aidan Shaw (6-9, 210, JR to Boston College); SF Marcus Allen (6-7, 220, FR); SG Sebastian Mack (6-4, 200, SO, from UCLA); C Josh Gray (7-0, 250, SR)

Oklahoma: SF Jacolb-Fredson Cole (6-7, 220, FR to McNeese); C Yaya Keita (6-9, 241, JR); SG Duke Miles (6-2, 175, SR, to Virginia); SF Tae Davis (6-9, 240, JR, from Notre Dame); PG Nijel Pack (6-0, 180, SR, from Miami)

Ole Miss:  SG TJ Caldwell (6-4, 190, JR); C John Bol (7-2, 210, FR)

South Carolina: SG Treyson Eaglestaff (6-6, 190, JR from North Dakota); C/PF Nick Pringle (6-10, 220, SR); SF Arden Conyers; PG Zachary Davis (6-7, 200, JR); CG Austin Herro (6-3, 180, FR); PF Christ Essandoko (7-0, 285, SO from Providence); SG Cam Scott (6-6, 170, FR); PG Jamarii Thomas (6-0, 185, SR); PG Meechie Johnson (6-2, 175, SR from Ohio State)l Kobe Knox (6-5, 185, JR, from South Florida); PF Okku Federiko (6-8, 220, FR); SG Morris Ugusuk (6-4, 170, SO); PF Okku Federiko (6-8, 200, FR)

Tennessee: PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie (6-1, 175, JR, from Maryland)

Texas: SF Devon Pryor (6-7, 185, SO to Oregon); SF Dailyn Swain (from Xavier); SF Camden Heide (6-7, 205, SO, from Purdue); C Matas Vokietaitas (7-0, 250, SO, from Florida Atlantic)

Texas A&M: SF Rob Dockery (6-6, 215, FR); SF Jaelyn Lee (6-6, 195, SO); PF Janusz Ratowski (6-11, 225, FR); Pharrel Payne (6-9, 255, JR, to Maryland); SF Solomon Washington (6-7, 225, JR); SG Andre Mills (6-4, 200, FR, to Maryland); SF George Turkson (6-7, 220, FR, to Maryland)

Vanderbilt: SG Jason Edwards (6-1, 175, JR, to Providence); SG Jordan Williams (6-2, 215, JR); SG Alex Hemenway (6-4, 190, SR); C Jaylen Carey (6-8, 265, SO); PF Jaqualon Roberts (6-8, 230, SO); PG Karris Bilal (6-2, 190, FR); SG MJ Collins (6-4, 190, JR); PF Jalen Washington (6-10, 225, JR, from North Carolina); C Mason Nicholson (6-10, 280, RSO, from Jacksonville State); PG Frankie Collins (from TCU)