MVG: Defense wins Championships and last night the Florida Gators won the 2025 NCAA MBB National Championship 65-63, over the Houston Cougars. Championship Finals Box Score MVP was clearly senior Will Richard who not only led the Gators in scoring with 18 points (4-7 from 3pt land and 4-4 FTA) and rebounds with 8, but Will also dished out 2 assists with 2 steals and a blocked shot for a Value Score of 100. Walter Clayton Jr, the 2025 NCAA Tournament MOP, only had 11 points but pulled down 5 boards and had 7 huge assists to earn 75 Value Credits. Sophomore big man Alex Condon rounds out the top three with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals for 61 Value Credits. Alex's size and Aussie toughness in the paint was felt throughout the game as tough, hard-nosed physical defense was on display by both teams. Another 2nd Half, Come-from-behind Victory: We all know the Gators were undefeated this year when leading at the half. In the NCAA Tournament Semi-Final and Final, the Gators had to overcome opponent half-time leads to come out victorious. Still, things looked bleak early in the 2nd half as the Cougars extended their halftime lead to 12 points (30-42). Just as it seemed the Gators could not get any traction offensively; they went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to 42-45. The Cougars refused to give up the lead, however as both teams struggled to score on extremely physical play. It was the Gators willingness to pass the ball to get the best shot that allowed them to scratch their way back. As Houston constantly attacked the ball and overplay defensively, the Gators made more assists than the Cougars (14-5, led by Walter Clayton Jr with 7 assists) to finally regain the lead (64-63) with only 46 sends left in the game. The poor shooting Cougars could not get free shots from the perimeter and this time it was the Gator's attacking defense that swallowed any Cougar drive attempts to the hoop. It turned out the Gators were more than willing and able to play, and even outplay the Cougars in their trademark physical, in-your-face style of defense. Congratulations to the University of Florida Fighting Gators, 2025 NCAA MBB National Champions! Box Score Value Leaders Richardlllll...100 Clayton Jrc..il75 Condonlll......67 Click on thumbnail below for all Value Scores. ] Value Credits* are assigned as follows: +5 credits for each Steal and Assist +4 credits for each Point scored, Rebound and Block .-5 credits for each Turnover .-1.5 credits for each Field Goal Attempt .-0.75 credit for each Free Throw Attempt * Value Credits are based solely on Box Score data and do not reflect total game contributions by players NCAA Tournament Final Box Score ESPN Video Highlights Full Game Highlights Last Two Minutes
Final AP basketball poll. SEC has 4 in the top 6 and 5 in the top 12. https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
18.1 million people watched the Gators beat Houston... the number maxed out at over 21.1 million viewers... Florida's win in title game had 18.1M viewers
