University of Houston faced off the Florida Gators in the championship game on April 7 at 8:50 pm.  Heated fans cheered on their squads for the final March Madness matchup, and the Gators pulled through with a score of 65-63, squeaking out a narrow victory with Houston failing to take a game winning shot in the final seconds.

The Florida Gators, a 1-Seed from the South Eastern Conference, were behind by as many as 12 points. But, led by a strong second half by Walter Clayton Jr, made a furious comeback.  At the end of the game, Clayton’s defensive stop prevented Houston from scoring the 3-Pointer that could have secured them the win.

All basketball fans were excited to watch a great final-4 and exciting championship.  This year’s tournament marked history, with the first ever final four composed of entirely 1-Seeds.  In addition, the Florida Gators Coach, Todd Golden, at 39 years old, marks the youngest coach to win a national title since 1983 when Jim Valvano’s NC State Wolfpack upset the same Houston Cougars on a final bucket at the buzzer.

Some of the biggest upsets were early on – Oakland Grizzlies (14) beating the Kentucky Wildcats (3) in the first round threw off a lot of brackets.  This win also marked history as the first win for Oakland in the NCAA tournament.  Though the tournament was quite short, it was a wild ride.