SAN ANTONIO — Florida basketball picked up its second technical foul against Houston in the national championship when Rueben Chinyelu slammed the ball on the court after a foul call in the second half.
Chinyelu fouled Houston forward J'Wan Roberts with 7:13 left at the Alamodome and immediately spiked the ball, which soared above his head and resulted in a technical foul, which the Cougars turned into two free throws by L.J. Cryer and another by Roberts.
That possession gave Houston a 51-48 lead before the Gators came back to tie the game after a three-point play by Walter Clayton Jr. Florida trailed 60-57 at the final media timeout, with 3:24 left to play. The Gators are trying to win their third national championship, while Houston is aiming for its first title in program history.
Earlier in the second half, Florida's bench received a technical foul for arguing with officials.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball gets two technical fouls in NCAA championship vs Houston
