Florida has gone from being picked to finish sixth in the rugged Southeastern Conference to pushing all the way to the final Monday night of the season.
Now the Gators face a Houston team that just pushes teams around with its suffocating defense.
Big 12 champion Houston and Florida will meet in the national championship game in the Alamodome to wrap up only the second NCAA Tournament when all the No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four.
Still, this title game matchup is quite a surprise, and features two teams that haven’t been this far in a long time. BetMGM Sportsbook had Florida listed as a 1 1/2-point favorite.
The Cougars (35-4) won their semifinal Saturday night by overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes for a 70-67 stunner over Duke and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, the AP national player of the year.
That was after Florida (35-4), with All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 34 points, only had to come back from eight points down after halftime in its 79-73 win over SEC rival Auburn. More here