College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: March Madness Edition

Here’s today’s installment of “The Breakfast Buffet”, a daily column that can be found here every single morning getting you caught up to date on everything that’s happened from the day/night before and everything that’s going to happen in the next 24 hours.

Things To Sample

A tale of two coaches headlines the 2025 national title game
In 1985, Kelvin Sampson was starting his first season as an assistant at Washington State when Todd Golden was born. Tonight, the 69-year old Sampson will go head-to-head with the 39-year old Golden as Houston faces Florida for the national title in San Antonio. It’s the first appearance in the title game for the Cougars since 1984 while the Gators are making their first appearance in the final game of the college basketball calendar since 2007. Neither of these coaches have ever coached in a national title game. All of that changes tonight.

Retention is paramount for both teams playing on Monday night
13 of the 16 players that Houston and Florida played in Saturday night’s national semifinals were in their respective programs a year ago. That’s unheard of in this current climate of college basketball. What does it all mean? Despite the volatility that currently exists in college athletics, the most successful programs are still the ones that can keep a strong nucleus in place for an extended period of time. Retention matters.

Florida’s frontcourt has to be ready for a fight
The Gators’ primary four options up front — Alex Condon, Reuben Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh, and Micah Handlogten — were a major reason why Florida was able to wear down Johni Broome in the second half of Saturday’s victory over Auburn. That quartet though, will step up a weight class tonight against Houston. The Cougars’ culture, toughness, and ability to dominate the glass has been the backbone of their success over the last decade. In order for the Gators to have a chance to win a national title, they have to hold their own on the glass. On Saturday, Houston out-rebounded Duke 42-31. Florida meanwhile, out-rebounded Auburn 39-30. The team that wins the battle on the glass will end their night on a ladder ready to cut down nets in San Antonio.

On The Side

  • LJ Cryer will be the first-ever player to win a national title with two different programs if Houston beats Florida on Monday night. Cryer was in Baylor’s program when the Bears won it all in 2021.
  • Florida’s Walter Clayton has made 116 three-point shots this season. Prior to this year, he had never made more than 93 shots from long distance in a single season.
  • The Alamodome is just 199 miles from the Fertitta Center, where Houston plays its home games. Meanwhile, the O’Connell Center — where Florida plays its home games — is 856 miles away from the Alamodome.
  • Miami transfer Jalil Bethea announced his commitment to Alabama on Sunday. A former five-star prospect, the 6-5 Bethea averaged 7.1 points this past season with the Hurricanes.
  • I will be doing a special live edition of my new podcast with CBS on Monday night at approximately 1:15 AM ET after the national title game. Stay tuned to social media for more specific programming information.

Leftovers