The Final Four in San Antonio is over. The Florida Gators are national champions.

The game came down to the wire, with the Gators nearly escaping with a gritty victory. Neither team shot over 40% from the field or better than 25% from three in the defensive slog. Florida managed to mount a 12-point second half comeback, claiming the lead late and winning 65-63. Fittingly, it’s the third largest comeback in championship game history as the Gators claim their third title in program history. In total, the Gators led for just 64 seconds. That was enough to crown themselves national champs.

“We’re resilient. We’re confident, trust each other, we win in any situation.” Florida senior guard Alijah Martin said. “It showed and we’re national champs.”

Houston held NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player award winner Walter Clayton Jr. completely scoreless through the first 25 minutes of the game. The Florida star senior finally got rolling late, scoring 11 points down the stretch and helping propel the Gators to victory.

“They presented a great challenge man. They’re a great team,” Clayton Jr. said of Houston. “It was very tough to prepare for them in a short turnaround that we had and we were saying it the whole time before this game, it wasn’t going to be easy, it was going to be a 40-minute dog fight and that’s what it was man.”

On the Houston side, devastation filled the locker room. The Cougars drop to 0-3 all time in national title games. They come up one game short of becoming the first men’s basketball team in school history to raise the trophy as national champions.

“It was a hard-fought game from both teams,” Houston senior guard L.J. Cryer said. “They made plays to win the game so you gotta give them credit.”

“We were right there, we were so close,” a frustrated Houston senior guard Mylik Wilson said after the loss. “Just couldn’t get it done."

For Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, it would’ve been an especially monumental victory. At 69 years old, he would’ve become the oldest coach to win a national title.  Instead, a championship eludes the Cougars coach once more. 

“If we’d have won I would’ve ran straight to him,” Houston senior forward J’Wan Roberts explained, heartbroken the team couldn’t come through for Sampson. “I’ve been with him for six years and I feel like winning a national championship would’ve solidified everything for his career. I feel so horrible.”

“When you get to the back nine of your career, the thing that keeps you going is great kids,” Sampson simply said. “I love this team, I’ve loved all my teams. But this group will always be special.”

Four of the top eight players in the Cougars rotation are seniors set to graduate, including leading scorer L.J. Cryer and leading rebounder J’Wan Roberts. The Cougars and Kelvin Sampson, who turns 70 years old in October, will have a lot of talent to replace if the program has any hopes of finding its way back to the Final Four next spring for another chance to finally be crowned champions. An opportunity that the university itself and the head coach each know sometimes only comes around once every 30 years.