The Florida Gators (35-4) and the Houston Cougars (35-4) meet Monday night for the national Championship of college basketball.
The Cougars stunned Duke, outscoring the Blue Devils 15-3 to close their semifinal clash Saturday and win 70-67. L.J. Cryer finished with 26 points to lead Houston to their third title game appearance and first national championship.
Florida also trailed for much of their semifinal affair before overwhelming Auburn in the late stages of the second half. Walter Clayton, Jr. was outstanding. The senior guard kept the Gators in it early and torched the Tigers late totaling 34 points. Clayton is the first player to score 30+ points in the Elite Eight and Final Four since Larry Bird.
As mentioned previously, this is Houston's third trip to the title game as they search for their first championship while the Gators have won twice (2006, 2007) in three previous trips.
The Cougars are now 3-1-1 against the spread and 1-3-1 (O/U) in the NCAA Tournament this year while the Gators are 2-3 ATS in the Tournament and 4-1 (O/U).
Lets take a deeper dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Houston vs. Florida
- Date: Monday, April 7, 2025
- Time: 8:50PM EST
- Site: Alamodome
- City: San Antonio, TX
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-dayNCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Houston vs. Florida
The latest odds as of Sunday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Houston Cougars (-102), Florida Gators (-118)
- Spread: Gators -1.5
- Total: 141.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Houston vs. Florida
Rotoworld Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday’s Cougars & Gators game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Houston Cougars +1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 141.5.
Houston vs. Florida: Top betting trends and recent stats
- These teams have a history, but it is irrelevant as they have not met since a couple of meetings in the 1970s
- Walter Clayton Jr. is averaging 24.6 points for the ...