Scouting Houston: Gators Face Cougars For National Championship

Both the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars are top-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament making it the first time two No. 1 seeds have faced each other in the National Championship Game since 2008.

The third-ranked Gators (35-4) advanced to the championship after a thrilling rematch against the Auburn Tigers (32-6) in San Antonio’s Alamodome in Saturday’s Final Four. Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr’s 34-point game helped propel the Gators against the Tigers to advance to the championship.

Tournament Win Recap

As for second-ranked Houston (35-4), the Cougars were able to win against top-ranked Duke after trailing by six with 30 seconds left in the game. Guard Emmanuel Sharp made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to just three.  After forward Joseph Tugler got the second-chance basket to go, the Cougars were down by just one point. Afterward, Houston fouled guard Tyrese Proctor, who missed the free throw which led to forward Cooper Flagg fouling forward J’Wan Roberts, who made both free throws to take the 68-67 lead against the Blue Devils. After Flagg missed a jumper for a possible lead, the Blue Devils quickly fouled that led to guard L.J. Cryer making two more free throws to put the Cougars up 70-67 and advancing them to the national championship.

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Stat Leaders and Offensive Performances

Cryer leads the Cougars in points per game with 15.6. Roberts leads the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game, with guard Milos Uzan leading in assists with 4.3. The Cougars are averaging 74.2 points per game alongside 36.2 rebounds and 12.0 assists.

Cryer averages 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Cougars, while shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc. Emanuel Sharp is shooting 40.4% and averaging 15.4 points over the past 10 games.

Clayton averages 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Gators, scoring 18.5 points while shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc. Alijah Martin is shooting 51.0% and averaging 14.2 points over the last 10 games.

In the last 10 games, the Cougars are 10-0, averaging 71.3 points, 34.6 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.9 points per game.

Up Next

This is Houston’s third appearance in the final stage of the NCAA Tournament, with the last time being in 1984. As for Florida, this is its first appearance in the national championship game since they won it all back in 2007. Tip-off is set for 8:50 p.m. Monday in the Alamodome on CBS and radio at ESPN Gainesville 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF and 103.7-FM.