No. 1 Houston leads No. 1 Florida at halftime of men's National Championship game
Published
The Houston Cougars lead the Florida Gators 31-28 at halftime in a battle of No. 1 seeds in the men’s National Championship game.
Houston is 28-3 when leading at the half, while Florida is 6-4 when trailing according to ESPN Research.
The Cougars also held Gators point guard Walter Clayton Jr. scoreless in the opening half.
Houston is looking for the first championship in program history and advanced to the final with a dramatic, come from behind victory over Duke in the Final Four.
The Cougars erased a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes to send top prospect Cooper Flagg and Duke crashing out of the tournament.
Houston is playing in their third men’s NCAA final, they were defeated in the championship game in both 1983 and 1984.
Florida defeated fellow SEC team Auburn 79-73 in their Final Four matchup to book their place in the title game.
The Gators are trying to lift the trophy for the first time since they claimed back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.
Both teams advanced through a historic Final Four round that featured all four top seeds for only the second time in tournament history and the first since the 2008 edition.
Florida also ensured there would be a different name on the trophy in 2025 after they eliminated two-time defending champion UConn in the second round.