GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On the flight home Tuesday morning from San Antonio, Todd Golden sat in the front row, middle seat, with wife Megan on the aisle and son Jacob at the window seat. Golden’s laptop was open to video of Monday night’s NCAA Tournament championship game, where his Florida Gators rallied from a second-half double-digit deficit to a pulsating 65-63 victory over Houston that gave Golden his first national crown and the program its first since the historic back-to-backs of 2006-07.

The viewing likely wasn’t for critique purposes (with the season being over and all), but more for enjoyment. 

Speaking of the latter, the post-game party – a large banquet room at the Riverwalk team hotel packed with team personnel, their family and friends – lasted well into the morning. 

“I got about a three-and-a-half hour nap, like 4:30 to 8,” Golden said. “Feel great.” 

Never better, probably.

The charter flight landed around 2:20. On the tarmac, as he waited for his luggage, Golden was asked if any of his fellow coaches from around the country had reached out. He mentioned receiving nice texts from Alabama’s Nate Oats and Missouri’s Dennis Gates, but also said he’d not had a lot of time to scroll through his messages. 

To prove his point, Golden held up his phone to show 668 of them still unread. The number was going to get larger not smaller. 

One he did read, though, was from super-donor Gary Condron, who was in Nashville, Tenn., for the team’s Southeastern Conference Tournament championship, and made the trip to NCAA sites Raleigh, N.C., San Francisco and San Antonio. 

I’ve been a Gator since 1973 and a booster 40+ years. This has been my greatest Gator memory ever! You are so special. 

The adulation was only just beginning. After the team bus left the Gainesville airport, it rolled directly to campus for a short welcome-home pep rally at the bandshell at Flavett Field. It was announced there that plans for a larger-scale celebration were in the works in conjunction with Saturday’s Orange & Blue spring football game. The mostly student crowd cheered the news. 

They cheered everything. That’s what Gators do in recognition of chompionships. 

“This team won 36 games,” Golden told them. “That’s one of the best teams in the history of college basketball standing right there.”

 

no words. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/pEcZ5m5xFJ

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 8, 2025

needed a selfie to remember this 🤳 pic.twitter.com/pMnw6HxER1

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 8, 2025

The gathering of several thousand went wild when senior point guard and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Walter Clayton Jr. proclaimed, “Them Gator Boys are hot!” And they loved seeing Alex Condon and his teammates dance to “Won’t Back Down,” which coincidentally was mantra the 2024-25 team lived by over the course of the season.

The night before included. 

Florida did it the hard way Monday. It was Houston, winner of 18 straight and 31 of its previous 32, that set the terms of the game. The Cougars, far and away the No. 1-rated defense in the nation this season, used aggressive ball screens and hard hedges to prevent Clayton from ever getting into a rhythm and denied the Gators’ goal to get out in transition and make it a full-court game. 

Houston made it into a halfcourt rock fight, just to its liking.

But instead of getting frustrated, Florida got physical in return and not only were drawn into playing Houston’s game, the Gators played it better than the Cougars did in the second half. 

UF trailed by 12 inside 16 minutes to go, but began chopping away at the deficit by holding UH scoreless for nine consecutive possessions. The Gators battled back to tie the game six times before finally taking the lead, 64-63, on two Alijah Martin free throws with 46.5 seconds to go. 

Then came the two plays Florida fans will talk about a long time, Houston fans will bemoan and Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp must live with forever. 

First, Sharp was stripped of the ball by Will Richard while attacking the lane. The ball bounced off Sharp and out of bounds. UF backup guard Denzel Aberdeen hit one of two free throws for a two-point cushion with 19.7 seconds left. 

Out of a Houston timeout, Cougars’ guard LJ Cryer was harassed and denied any sort of penetration on the right side of the floor and, with the clock at six seconds, pitched a pass to Sharp at the top of the key. 

Sharp had a wide-open look at a 3 and went into his shot, but Clayton, who was out of position deep in the lane, rocketed and launched toward Sharp so quickly that it made Sharp indecisive and forced him to attempt a dribble, instead. Not allowed. 

“Walter Clayton made a defensive play!” UF associated head coach Carlin Hartman said. “Can you believe it?”

The loose ball was smothered by UF forward Alex Condon as time expired and launched the Gators into their national championship celebration. 

Can you believe it? 

“Unbelievable focus,” Martin, who along with his teammates donned national championship ballcaps, said of the team’s performance down the stretch. “Last few minutes of the game, we had to dig in and get some stops to be champs. And now the hat fits.”

Like a crown. 

And upon arrival back on campus, the Gators were treated like the kings of college basketball that they are. They’ll be far more rested for the rinse-and-repeat Saturday.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu