The 2025 men's NCAA tournament came to a close on Monday night, with the Florida Gators earning a hard-fought 65-63 victory over the Houston Cougars for their first national championship since they won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

Florida defeated Houston 65-63 to take home the school's third NCAA men's basketball championship, coming back from down double digits and taking the lead in the final minute of the game. The Gators' first two titles came in back-to-back championship seasons in 2006 and 07.

SportsLine expert Thomas Casale has revealed his Florida Gators vs. Houston Cougars picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament national championship game on Monday

Florida basketball trails Houston by three (31-28) at the half. Fortunately for the Gators, they've been a dominant second half team this NCAA Tournament.

The national title game between Florida and Houston could come down to the NCAA Tournament's best clutch player against the country's best clutch defense. Walter Clayton Jr., leads the Gators into Monday night's final against a long-armed Cougars defense that has snuffed out every team it has seen over this run to its first title game since 1984.

Florida and Houston will battle it out for the 2025 national championship Monday, and the bookmakers are telling you to flip a coin. The Gators are 1.5-point favorites over the Cougars, but the odds are trending to get even tighter.

The 2025 men's NCAA tournament is down to the final two teams. Florida narrowly defeated Auburn in their Final Four game, winning 79-73. But that's practically nothing compared to Houston coming back to stun Duke 70-67.

The Florida Gators and Houston Cougars are the last two teams standing this March Madness season, and the pair of No. 1 seeds face one more battle in Monday’s NCAA national championship game.

Todd Golden’s Florida Gators face Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars for college basketball’s national title Monday night in the Alamodome.