Men's March Madness Championship: Florida vs. Houston - ESPN

Men's March Madness has delivered on its namesake promise, from early-round upsets to Final Four comebacks.

The road finally ended in San Antonio, where Florida took Houston down to the wire at the Alamodome before ultimately winning the 2025 men's NCAA championship.

Our reporters on-site break down how the Gators mounted another come-from-behind victory to cut down the nets in San Antonio.

Jump to: Relive the action

Final: Florida beats Houston 65-63

How Florida won: For the Gators, the lead-up to Monday's national championship game centered almost entirely around Walter Clayton Jr. The All-American guard was on a run not seen since Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker carried UConn to a pair of titles in the early 2010s. It was evident immediately that Houston's scouting report did, too. After scoring a combined 64 points in his previous two games, Clayton didn't score his first point until the 14:57 mark of the second half against the Cougars. He didn't make his first field goal until there was 7:54 left in the game. It was the recipe for a comfortable Houston championship win, inevitably continuing the narrative about the Cougars' top-ranked defense. But Florida's supporting cast kept Florida in the game just long enough for Clayton to get going in the second half, erasing a 12-point deficit en route to a 65-63 Gators win for Florida's third national championship since 2006, making 39-year old Todd Golden the youngest head coach to win the national championship since Jim Valvano in 1983. — Jeff Borzello

Pivotal moment: There were so many stretches that seemed decisive in this game. Houston took a 12-point lead early in the second half after a wild sequence. The Cougars seemed to keep the Gators just out of reach, but