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00:00A national championship on a Monday night to continue to recap and react to live right here in person in studio on a Tuesday morning on the early line on Sports Grid.
00:11Florida Gators for the first time since 2007 when they won their second consecutive national championship under Billy Donovan back atop the sport of college basketball.
00:22Florida, a national champ last night in San Antonio with a 65-63 comeback victory in thrilling fashion down to the final seconds of regulation inside the Alamo Dome over Houston.
00:36DRS, when we talk about this win for Florida, it was a common theme for the Gators throughout the big dance.
00:43They trailed by double digits against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in the Elite Eight out in San Francisco.
00:49They trailed by nine points with fewer than three minutes remaining in regulation in that game against the Red Raiders.
00:55They won that game outright to appear in a final four.
00:58They were trailing by eight at the break against their conference mates in Auburn on Saturday night.
01:04They storm all the way back to win the second half by 14 and keep on dancing to a national championship game.
01:10They trailed by only three at the half yesterday against the Cougs, but Houston off to a blistering offensive start early in the second half.
01:18They extended that lead to as many as 12, and yet the Gators remained unfazed once again.
01:24Florida comes back to win by two, 65-63 for the third ever national championship in program history.
01:31And we talked yesterday a lot about correlation, right?
01:34Oh, well, if that game stays under the total, it's a Houston game when primarily it was right up until the end of that year.
01:39So it's always interesting to watch that play out.
01:41But they were phenomenal down the stretch when they needed to make plays.
01:43And boy, they had some blistering plays where it wasn't as if they chipped away, Ben.
01:47It was like, hey, we're up 12 points, and in the blink of an eye, here comes Florida ripping down the court, a couple three-point shots, and one plays.
01:53And next thing you know, they're right back in it, which momentum will change.
01:56But understand this, too.
01:57You're looking at a Florida Gators team.
01:58This wasn't like – and I know Gonzaga hasn't won a championship.
02:01Like, well, they don't really get tested outside of one team in the WCC.
02:04Let's see them hit adversity.
02:05This is a team in the Florida Gators that played in the SEC, the toughest conference in basketball.
02:09And after that Georgia loss, which was a bad one, they beat A&M-Alabama-Mississippi, Missouri-Alabama-Tennessee to win the SEC championship, the conference tournament.
02:19Then they take out the Norfolk State game.
02:20Back-to-back champions at UConn.
02:22Maryland, a rising thing.
02:24You know, Texas Tech, a very good team out of the Big 12, which had them on the ropes, they won.
02:27Auburn, a very good team out of the SEC, who had them on the ropes, and they won.
02:30And Houston, a very good team that had them on the ropes, and they won.
02:34That is just a sign of digging down deep and believing in your team.
02:37And understand this, too.
02:38Like, I talk so much about Walter Clayton, how good he needed to be yesterday.
02:41When the rest of your team can pick you up, as he said in that post-game presser, like, it feels great.
02:46Like, I wasn't making my shots.
02:47They kept us in it.
02:47So when I was able to get my shots off, we were ready to win.
02:50Fantastic team effort last night.
02:52Absolutely was.
02:53Houston was ahead by three, with about three and a half minutes remaining in regulation at the under four-minute media time out.
03:00And Florida still found a way to a win.
03:02And only one made field goal for the Cougs in those final three and a half minutes.
03:06On an LJ Cryer tip.
03:08And, of course, some great defense by the Gators in those final two defensive possessions, forcing Emanuel Sharp into a turnover.
03:15And then, of course, on the final play of the game, not even a shot attempt up by Houston.
03:2240 games in total this year for Florida.
03:2436 victories.
03:26In DRS, the best cover team at the high major level this year in college basketball.
03:30Entering the big dance, 26-8 against the number.
03:33Ends up covering in their two most important wins of the season.
03:38As a point and a half favorite in the national championship game against Houston.
03:42As a slight two and a half point favorite in the final four victory against Auburn.
03:47This Florida team, not necessarily on the radar.
03:51Entering the 2024-25 college basketball season.
03:54Year number three in Gainesville under Todd Golden.
03:57Last year, in his second year, led the Gators to the NCAA tournament.
04:01But a round of 64 loss to Colorado in a high-scoring game.
04:06They reload in the transfer portal.
04:08They add a couple of key additions.
04:10And they embark on this journey.
04:12A 60-1 price on UF to win the national championship before the year got started.
04:17Tied for the 20th best number nationally around college basketball.
04:21But by the time they had reached the NCAA tournament, winning the SEC tournament title.
04:27The most highly anticipated SEC tournament that we can remember at a plus 360 price.
04:33They had the second best number entering the big dance.
04:36And Donnie, as many, including myself, still wearing my Gator green.
04:40Had picked them to win a national championship.
04:42Feeling the Gators were one of the most, if not the most by themselves, dangerous teams in all of college.
04:47No doubt about it.
04:48And the interesting part, too, is where you try to break it down and say to yourself,
04:51how did we get to this point?
04:52We always knew Florida was really good.
04:54They played in the SEC.
04:55They had some of the biggest wins in the nation, on the road, at home.
04:58And the SEC, you're going to get those extra bonus points.
05:00But understand this, too.
05:01Like, at the beginning of the tournament, a lot of people did have Florida winning this.
05:04But we didn't expect Florida to have this sort of route where every single game,
05:08it felt like they were getting an absolute hand-making punch where no team can come back from this.
05:12It's not a three-game series.
05:13It's not a five-game series.
05:14It's a seven.
05:15You're done because you didn't bring your best brand of basketball.
05:17But when crunch time came, that best brand of basketball was the Florida Gators at that point,
05:21which they showed again.
05:22Look, in a game that maybe have up-tempo, where you have two teams that can really get after it,
05:26and let's just say the total band was 165.5 points in that game.
05:29Okay, they came back from 12.
05:31Like, if you put that bell curve on Houston, 12-point lead, that's 25 to most teams there
05:35with the way they play defense.
05:37And to win that game, I'm still sitting here today trying to balance out what actually happened.
05:42It was a shocking thing.
05:44Much like Houston's rally against Duke in the Final Four, you're watching it with your eyes,
05:50but you're not almost believing what you are seeing.
05:53To Donnie's point that I think is right on the nose, you are not supposed to be able to come back from down double digits
05:58against this Cougars team with the way that Houston is constructed, with how disciplined they are,
06:05with how efficient they are on the defensive end of the floor.
06:08You are not supposed to be able to beat Houston when they lead by double digits,
06:12especially in the second half, and yet that speaks to the talent and the resolve of this Florida team.
06:18Becoming the 10th program ever in D1 men's basketball history to win at least three national championships
06:25in DRS in the last 20 college basketball seasons, excluding 2020, of course,
06:29because we did not crown a national champion.
06:32And since 2004-05, three D1 programs have won at least three national championships.
06:38UConn has four.
06:40North Carolina has three.
06:41And as of last night, Florida with three national titles as well.
06:45Yeah, put them right back on the Pantheon.
06:46What's stopping them now at this point?
06:47You know the Florida Gators got that big NIL money playing the SEC,
06:51which looks like it's the preemptive basketball conference now in the country.
06:54Who's to stop them?
06:55Maybe back-to-back for them next year.
06:56I'm sure they're going to savor this one, because if you would have told me before the game,
06:59hey, Donnie, I'm going to give you one score here, Florida gets 65,
07:02no shot they win that basketball game, and they did.
07:04Well, look at the national championship odds already.
07:07The way to early look at next season in just a bit.
07:10But we will tie a bow on how this year came to a close
07:14and a national championship in San Antonio.
07:17Really the big dance as a whole.
07:19Florida is back atop the college basketball world.
07:22A national champ again for the third time in program history.
07:25The third time in the last 19 years in the first national championship in Gainesville
07:31for Gators men's hoops.
07:33Not under Billy Donovan, but in year number three of the Todd Golden era
07:37for this Florida team.
07:39At 39 years old, Todd Golden becomes the youngest head coach
07:42to win a national championship in men's college basketball since 1983.
07:48And a guy by the name of Jim Valvano, who also beat this Houston team.
07:54The RS will continue to give the praise to Florida here in just a moment.
07:58But of course, with the joy of victory comes the other side
08:01and the agony of defeat.
08:03Houston ahead by 12 early in the second half.
08:06They led by three at the under four-minute media timeout.
08:10And they had not one but two looks in the final 30 seconds of regulation
08:14to at least tie this game and maybe send it to overtime.
08:18Houston still seeking that first national championship in program history,
08:23playing in their first national title game last night in more than four decades.
08:27It's so hard to get to championship games.
08:30Like, again, when we take a look at, like, the other sports designed differently,
08:33obviously football is a one-off, right, because same thing with college football.
08:36But when you take a look at, like, hockey or, like, men's basketball
08:38or Major League Baseball, you say to yourself and you're like, man, like,
08:43okay, the cream is going to rise to the top.
08:44Three-game series, five-game series, seven-game series will be fine.
08:47Like, to win, like, six, seven games in a row and also have that grueling
08:51conference tournament right before that and then to come out on top.
08:54Some teams do breeze through, like, hey, man, won every game by double digits.
08:56That's fine.
08:57But the fact that you have to continuously come back for the Florida Gators
08:59is unbelievable.
09:01It just goes to show you it's not necessarily the players themselves,
09:04which, again, play a big part.
09:05That's the reason why they're on the court.
09:06But just the program and the principles that are instilled every day
09:09where there's no panic in these guys.
09:11Yeah.
09:11You could, hey, we just didn't have it on a national championship game.
09:14What a nice night it was.
09:15Oh, well, we took second place here.
09:16To be able to come back and dig down relentlessly.
09:19And we're not talking about a four-point game.
09:21Hey, we made a nice comeback.
09:22Like, they should have never beaten Texas Tech.
09:24They should have never beaten the Houston Cougars last night.
09:27And they did.
09:28That's fortitude of a program.
09:29So impressive to watch that play out.
09:31I think you can argue that the most dangerous team entering the big dance,
09:35the Florida Gators, who had won 12 of their last 13,
09:37including that vaunted SEC tourney title in Nashville,
09:41did not even play a great 40 minutes for the entirety of a single game
09:45in the big dance.
09:46They did not cover in the round of 64 against the 16 seed in Norfolk State
09:51out of the MEAC.
09:52They were trailing UConn by three points at the under four-minute media timeout
09:56in the second half.
09:58They were only up by two against Maryland in the Sweet 16
10:01in a sloppy opening 20 minutes for the Gators.
10:04As you share, down by double digits against Texas Tech with fewer than five
10:08and a half minutes remaining.
10:10And, of course, we know how Final Four weekend went in San Antonio or Florida
10:14for Calvin Sampson and Houston.
10:17Sampson still stuck on career win 799.
10:22He coached in his first national championship game last night,
10:25and yet he still does not have a national crowd.
10:29Second most wins among an active V1 head coach,
10:32only behind Rick Barnes, who has 836 career victories
10:35without a national championship, fifth most all-time of any head coach
10:41with the most career wins and not a national championship.
10:44DRS, the story of what we saw with Florida in the national championship
10:48over the Cougs was Houston over Duke, was Florida over Auburn.
10:53In all three of our games in the Final Four, 11 combined points.
10:57That was it, the entirety of the margin.
11:00Florida won by six, Houston won by three, Florida won by two last night
11:05in the national championship game.
11:07Third fewest points of a total margin in a Final Four in the history
11:12of the NCAA tournament.
11:13All number ones, BSS.
11:15All number ones.
11:16And, Donnie, that was the point, right?
11:17Yeah.
11:18We talked about the lack of Cinderella, the lack of that March magic
11:21that we are often used to for a tournament often defined by its chaos
11:25and madness.
11:26We didn't get that early, but because of how great these teams were
11:30entering the Alamo Dome on Saturday night,
11:32we figured we would be in for a special and significant Final Four,
11:36and that's exactly what it was.
11:37Yeah, and it wasn't the prettiest basketball that we saw last night,
11:39but I guarantee the ratings are going to be high because what do we like?
11:41Two number one seeds there in the final to get excitement throughout the day,
11:44and then a close game all the way through.
11:46Some people might have dipped out like they did in the Duke game on Saturday.
11:49And, ah, they got this one wrapped up.
11:51I'll get an extra head start on work tomorrow.
11:53Not the case in that one.
11:54If you stuck with it all the way through like most of us did BSS,
11:58you enjoyed everything all the way through and just the crowning
12:00of a national championship and the future of what these programs will have
12:03because, as you pointed out, the Final Four, both games,
12:06were phenomenal right to the end.
12:07You watched the game on Monday night here in the national championship game,
12:10phenomenal all the way to the end.
12:12Sometimes just as a sports fan, as a non-gambler, that's all you can ask for,
12:15and that delivered in a big way.
12:17It was not a waste of your time to watch all of them.
12:19No, it was not.
12:21All three games in the Final Four, the team that was trailing at the half
12:25won that game outright.
12:27Not supposed to happen.
12:28Including in a national championship for the Florida Gators.
12:32They are the national champs in 2025.
12:35How about 2026?
12:36Look at those odds up next.
12:3825.
12:39Last night on national championship Monday inside the Alamo Dome,
12:42Florida, back atop the pinnacle of college basketball as a national champion.
12:47Is it ever too early to look at next year's college basketball odds in a 2025-26 campaign?
12:55Maybe it's way too early we do so anyway.
12:58Where do the reigning national champs, the Gators, check in in next year's national championship prices?
13:04Not inside the top 10 DRS.
13:06A 25-to-1 number that is currently the 12th best price on the FanDuel Sportsbook,
13:13alongside a host of others, including Texas Tech, Michigan, Eric Patino, and St. John.
13:20So who is next year's national championship favorite?
13:23This year's preseason national championship favorite as well in Duke.
13:27A 10-to-1 number on the Blue Devils.
13:29Of course, the team could look very, very different from how it did this year,
13:33but plenty more talented freshmen making their way to Durham to start next season as well.
13:38You're number four under John Shire.
13:40Here's the tough part about it, right?
13:41Because you do see a lot of clusters there.
13:4310-to-1, 20-to-1, 25-to-1.
13:45Because it used to be, okay, who are they coming back as seniors?
13:48And also on top of that, who is that recruiting class?
13:51Now that you have, obviously, the transfer portal,
13:53we don't know who any of these players will be.
13:55Like, look at Kansas, 16-to-1 price.
13:57Hey, they might be really good.
13:58I don't know who's staying on that team.
13:59Who are they going to pay to come in on that team?
14:01That's what we don't understand.
14:02But it is fun to try to analyze where certain teams would be
14:05and teams that we're used to not seeing up top, like BYU at 16-to-1,
14:09maybe having the best overall player coming into town, into their camp for next year.
14:13But it is fun because you get a lot of teams, Ben,
14:15and let's just say 35-to-1 or less, that if you know,
14:19I'm not saying, like, inside information,
14:20like I know exactly the starting five is going to be next year.
14:23You hit it right, man.
14:24Probably same thing we talked about the Florida Gators to open.
14:26If you pick the Florida Gators from jump last year
14:29and you're sitting at the tournament at a plus-320 price entering in it,
14:32it's one of the best numbers you're going to see.
14:33If you have a lot of conviction about any of these teams,
14:36maybe you can get in now.
14:38Of course, you'd be holding on to a national championship for about a year
14:41as next year, college basketball's Final Four
14:43and the men's NCAA tournament will be in DRS's favorite city.
14:47That is Indianapolis.
14:49But, Donnie, these odds are going to change so much in the next few weeks
14:54for these teams that just played in a Final Four this weekend in San Antonio.
14:58Now they have to deal with the transfer portal.
15:00Players exiting, players declaring for the NBA draft,
15:03and, of course, those they hope to retain and then bring in
15:06through the transfer portal this offseason as well.
15:10We do think many of those talented freshmen for the Blue Devils,
15:13Cooper Flagg, Con Knipple, Comeon Malewatch,
15:16are going to go to the NBA draft.
15:18Who returns and who is coming?
15:20Cameron Boozer, the third-best recruit nationally,
15:23and, yes, the son of Carlos Boozer,
15:25who played his college hoops in Durham as well.
15:28Might have even been John Shire's teammate under Coach K.
15:31But, regardless, Cam Boozer makes his way to Duke.
15:35As you look at the rest of the national championship prices,
15:38Houston will have some experience coming back.
15:40A 12-1 number on the Cougs.
15:42Louisville and Pat Kelsey in a very successful opening year there for the Cards.
15:48Already the best transfer portal class in the country as of this moment.
15:51They've been attacking it in Purdue
15:53with the man you see on your screen right there,
15:56Big Ten Player of the Year in Brayden Smith.
15:58He is expected to return to West Lafayette.
16:01As is Trey Kaufman-Wren.
16:03And they add in one of the best bigs in the transfer portal
16:06in Oscar Clough from South Dakota State,
16:09who averaged 17 points in more than 12 boards per game.
16:12Donnie, I'll say this.
16:13Based on retention and what I know is returning for the Boilers,
16:16I think the number I'm most confident in,
16:19if I had to bet it right now, would be Purdue at a 14-1 price.
16:22That's pretty crazy at that point, too,
16:23because you take a look at the SEC,
16:25we're not expecting a fall-off from them.
16:26Look at the 18-1s coming in.
16:28Coach Cal in Arkansas, 18-1 Auburn,
16:3118-1 Connecticut there out of the Big East,
16:3218-1 for Alabama, and then 20-1 sitting there for Kentucky.
16:36And then, of course, we just talked about the national champion,
16:38the Florida Gators.
16:39So much money to go around now.
16:40It's going to be interesting to see where some of these kids
16:42actually wind up.
16:43But as Ben points out,
16:44right now you're looking at flyers here.
16:46Let me take a couple pieces for a team that I think is going to come back
16:49and I know has some NIL money to spend,
16:50because you might take a look and say,
16:52well, hey, I like Houston.
16:53And they lose three starters there,
16:54and they drop back to 36-1.
16:56But you might take a look at Tennessee at 30-1,
16:58get a couple key transfers.
17:00Now, all of a sudden, they're 15-1.
17:01It's a fun market.
17:02It's almost like the stock market this early,
17:04because you don't know how it's going to play off.
17:06You're just trying to take a really good, educated guess.
17:08Yes, you certainly are.
17:09Again, Florida last year,
17:11outside of the top 20 when it came to their national championship price
17:14right before the season began at a 60-1 number.
17:18Those teams this year,
17:19Iowa now under Ben McCollum,
17:21who, of course, comes over from Drake.
17:23Wisconsin, great guard of the Badgers
17:25already attacking the transfer portal.
17:27Oregon, Texas,
17:29and how about the return of Villanova?
17:31Now under the stewardship of Kevin Willard
17:33on the main line,
17:34the Wildcats at a 60-1 price.
17:38Donnie, there might be a bunch of teams
17:39that you see at the top.
17:40All right, Duke, Houston, Louisville.
17:42Okay, they've got the resurgence under Pat Kelsey.
17:44We talked about Purdue last year's national runner-ups.
17:47It's Kansas, and BYU?
17:50Yeah.
17:50Tied for the fifth best price to win a national championship?
17:54You bet your bottom dollar.
17:55A very successful debut season in Provo for Kevin Young.
17:59And coming to Provo next year,
18:02A.J. DeBansa,
18:03the number one recruit in the country
18:05that comes with a lot of expectation,
18:09but a prolific resume before he gets to college ball,
18:13and a very hefty price tag in terms of NIL.
18:16Well, BYU is willing to spend.
18:18We'll see if it pays dividends next college basketball season.
18:20And also, there's two things, right?
18:21Because kids do want to get paid nowadays
18:22in college basketball,
18:23and you might go to the highest bidder,
18:25but also at the same time,
18:26you want to be sold on a pro-style offense,
18:28and that's what BYU is giving you at this point.
18:30I don't think any kid sitting out there goes,
18:31yeah, I'm not going to BYU because of, you know,
18:33I can't have, you know, Pepsi on campus
18:35or caffeine or anything like that.
18:37You see the three-point shots,
18:38and you see that offense
18:39as a lot of free-flowing mentality.
18:40You love to see that there,
18:42but it is interesting where BYU 16-1
18:44right up top at this point.
18:46It sounds kind of crazy, but you're right.
18:48After that season, like, BYU was really good,
18:50and AJ was in the crowd there in Newark for those games,
18:52so he's ready to go right off the bat.
18:53Should be fun.
18:54Like, the brand of basketball they play,
18:56I love that.
18:56It's almost like the opposite
18:57of the Virginias and or Houston.
18:59Right now, they have a lottery pick on the roster.
19:02Their point guard this year in Yegor Dimmons,
19:03he was supposed to be a lottery pick
19:05and still slotted by many NBA draft experts
19:08and gurus as a lottery pick
19:11for the 2025 NBA draft
19:13coming your way later this June.
19:15But I guess the conversation around Provo
19:17is that Yegor Dimmons might consider a return
19:20to play along AJ to Bansa,
19:22which would be something sensational.
19:25So keep an eye on BYU at that 12-1 number.
19:29And Donnie, you highlighted this as well.
19:31Of course, the champions this year in college hoops
19:33out of the SEC.
19:34The SEC was by far the best league
19:36in college basketball.
19:3814 teams into the NCAA tournament.
19:41A record amount of bids for a single league.
19:44Seven teams into the Sweet 16.
19:46The most from a single conference
19:48ever to reach the second weekend.
19:50Two into the Final Four.
19:51And of course, the national champs
19:53in Florida last night.
19:54And you see a lot of SEC teams
19:56hovering around the top 10 there.
19:59Arkansas, led by Don Calipari.
20:01We'll see who returns in Fayetteville.
20:03Auburn at 18-1 price.
20:05We'll see who returns on the planes as well.
20:08Alabama, 18-1.
20:10Kentucky, 20-1.
20:11And then the reigning champs, 25-1.
20:13That will be the price on Todd Golden.
20:15And also, it's so tough because the SEC,
20:18we know, we're not expecting a fall-off next season.
20:20How good can it actually be?
20:21Can it get back to the levels that did this year?
20:23Quite frankly so.
20:24Because you see a lot of money being thrown around the SEC
20:26from a coaching staff perspective
20:28as well as to a player's perspective.
20:30But it's hard.
20:30It's almost like you want to take
20:32one of those other SEC teams to start the season
20:34and figure it can get hot.
20:35Because if you have an easier path to victory,
20:37more wins on your roster,
20:39that means a 1, 2, or 3 seed could be available.
20:41Where you might be taking a look at a Kentucky team
20:43once again.
20:44Like, hey, 21 seemed good.
20:45Well, wait a second.
20:45Why'd they get the 4 line?
20:46Well, they have 8 losses in SEC play.
20:48Not their fault.
20:49But you want the easiest path to victory here.
20:51It's just fun to see where these things are lined up
20:53at the FanDuel Sportsbook
20:54and some of the value you can get down the line.
20:56But it's the Blue Bloods up top, man.
20:57Hey, just saw Duke.
20:58They're really good.
20:59They'll be back.
20:59Houston, good.
21:00They'll be back.
21:01Louisville is the interesting one to me
21:02because they look like they were on the precipice of
21:05we might not even have like a major Division I program anymore.
21:07And how quickly things change
21:09where they have one good season.
21:10It's like, yeah, you know what?
21:11Great coach.
21:12They can recruit.
21:12And they have NIL money.
21:13Put them in the top three.
21:1427 wins for Pat Kelsey in the Cards this year.
21:17Matching the second best turnaround.
21:19Turnaround season to season
21:21at the high major level in college basketball.
21:24And with a great transfer portal class already.
21:27A lot expected for Louisville next season as well.
21:31I will make a couple of points
21:32based on the trends we saw in this year's NCAA tournament.
21:35Five of the past six champions have been a one seed.
21:3814 of the past 18 now have been a one seed.
21:41And something that continues to be the case.
21:43Each of the last 21 national champs
21:46in men's college basketball
21:47have ranked inside the top 12
21:50of the week six AP poll.
21:52Pay attention to that in December next year.