SAN ANTONIO — After a night of utter chaos and complete shock at the Alamodome, the building is peaceful on Sunday as the two teams left standing in the NCAA Tournament — Florida and Houston — regroup and prepare to face off in the national final. Florida is seeking its third championship in program history, while Houston is trying to reach the mountaintop for the first time ever.
Both teams got to this stage in dramatic fashion. The Gators trailed Auburn 49-40 early in the second half of their semifinal game before storming back to secure a 79-73 win, relying on tough defense and the heroics of 6-foot-3 senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who erupted for a career-high 34 points. A few hours later, the Cougars pulled off one of the most stunning wins in Final Four history, going on an 11-1 run in the last 1:26 to topple Duke 70-67.
The thrill of victory was profound, but short-lived. By the time Houston returned to the hotel, coach Kelvin Sampson’s mind was “focused on getting (assistant coach) Kellen (Sampson) by himself and getting to a laptop and looking at Florida,” he said. Sampson admitted that he has never quite learned how “to smell the roses.” At 69, he is looking to become the oldest coach ever to claim a national championship. Florida’s Todd Golden, 39, would be the ninth-youngest coach to do so.
Their teams play very contrasting styles, presenting a compelling matchup. Florida ranks second in adjusted offensive efficiency; Houston ranks first in adjusted defensive efficiency (per KenPom). Florida averages 85.4 points per game, the third most in Division I; Houston has held opponents to just 58.5 points per game, which leads the nation.
The outcome may very well be determined by which team controls the pace. Led by Clayton, 6-foot-2 senior guard Alijah Martin and 6-foot-4 senior guard Will Richard, the Gators like to push the ball and create easy opportunities in transition. The Cougars, on the other hand, rank 360th in adjusted tempo (per KenPom), putting trust in their elite defense to carry them to victory.
“Hopefully we can get the game up and down a little bit. They’re going to impose their will as they’ve done on everybody this year,” Golden said Sunday. “They’re absolutely an elite team. The way they guard, they’re going to make it really hard on us. I think they’ll pressure the ball screens, try to get the ball out of Walt’s hands. But they rotate, they’re long, they play so hard, so tough. We’re going to have [to play with] great mental and physical toughness if we want to give ourselves a chance tomorrow night.”
Before every game this season, Golden has written that exact message on the whiteboard in the Florida locker room: “Mentally and physically tougher team wins.” With the Gators down 46-38 to Auburn at halftime, Florida associate head coach Carlin Hartman called out the players for being soft and challenged them to “man up.” They responded in a major way, holding the Tigers’ high-powered offense to just 27 points on 33.3 percent shooting in the second half.
Houston epitomizes toughness — it is the central ingredient of the culture Sampson has built since taking over the program in 2014. Look no further than sixth-year senior J’Wan Roberts, a 6-foot-8 forward who has been with the Coogs his entire college career. In the team’s semifinal win over Duke, Roberts sank the two biggest shots of the night: a pair of free throws with 19 seconds remaining to give Houston the lead for good.
In addition to toughness, Sampson prioritizes length and athleticism when recruiting, two characteristics important to make his defensive system work. “One of the first things we do when we bring a kid on campus is we measure their wingspan because of how we play pick-and-roll defense,” Sampson said. “There are a lot of seven-foot kids who are very lumbering. They have a hard time moving. Those kids would not function well in the way we play defense.” Houston’s big men must be able to apply pressure on ball screens and then recover quickly. How well they execute that strategy against a Florida team with exceptional guards, one of whom has been the most unstoppable offensive force in the tournament, will be a crucial factor to monitor. Clayton has averaged 24.6 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 48.7 percent from three amid the Gators’ run to the title game.
“They got three really good guards,” said Houston’s Milos Uzan, a 6-foot-4 junior guard. “With Clayton, we just have to show bodies. In the ball screens, we have to make sure that we contain him and try not to just give him any easy looks.”
“Tagging them from the jump,” added Joseph “JoJo” Tugler, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, when asked about the keys to containing Florida’s backcourt. “Personally, just tagging from the line of scrimmage and stopping the ball early and getting back to mine.”
Florida is anticipating that Houston will load up on Clayton, forcing the ball out of his hands in pick and rolls. “The key is going to be the other guys stepping up and making enough plays to where they don’t feel comfortable doubling him every time,” said Golden. “The great thing for us is our bigs are great decision-makers and playmakers in the middle of the floor.” Sophomore forwards Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon will be tested to make the right decision in four-on-three situations over and over again. “If our bigs are able to hit a couple pick-and-pop threes in the middle of the floor, I think that will be very important,” added Golden. “That might take away a little of their aggressiveness in the ball screen coverage.”
Houston’s top offensive weapon is 6-foot-1 senior guard LJ Cryer, who dropped 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting against the Blue Devils. Cryer, Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, all shoot above 41 percent from behind the arc. Facing a high-level Duke defense, Cryer and Sharp combined to hit nine three-pointers. Sharp scored 9 of his 16 points in the final 2:05.
If there is one thing we were all reminded of on Saturday night, it is that anything can happen during March Madness, especially on a stage as big as this. The only thing we know for certain about Monday’s game will be written on Florida’s whiteboard shortly before tip-off: The mentally and physically tougher team will win.
