Houston basketball trailed 65-63 with under 20 seconds left in the national championship game on Monday night, setting up for a wild finish.
The finish was wild not because of a buzzer beater, but because of how the Cougars were unable to get a shot off.
Florida put on the clamps in the final possession, holding the Cougars without a shot attempt before stealing the ball. Houston’s Emanuel Sharp lined up for a game-winning 3-pointer before trying to avoid Alex Condon’s block attempt. But he left his feet, therefore not allowing him to touch the ball again without being called for a travel.
The ball, which bounced for a few moments, was grabbed by Florida, ending the game.
Here’s a full look at the final play of the game, which resulted in Florida winning its third national championship in program history:
Look: Final play of Florida-Houston national championship
YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: THE FLORIDA GATORS 🏆🐊#MarchMadness@GatorsMBKpic.twitter.com/XatLv5x2hm
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 8, 2025
It was an uncharacteristic play for the normally steady Cougars, who had been nails down the stretch in the men’s NCAA Tournament this season. Houston dialed up a game-winning inbound play to beat Purdue in the Sweet 16, and also completed a six-point comeback with under a minute to go against Duke in the Final Four.
The Cougars surrendered a 12-point second half lead on Monday night, as the Gators found momentum offensive to complete the come-from-behind win. It was a poor shooting night overall for Houston, which finished 24 of 69 from the field with six 3-point makes, four of which came from leading scorer L.J. Cryer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Look: Houston can’t get shot off on final play, falls to Florida