After the game in which the Gators triumphed over Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars 65-63, Head Coach Todd Golden spoke with the media and shared his thoughts on achieving a new milestone in the history of the university.

“It was the same story,” Golden said to Andy Katz after the game. “We knew this was going to be an incredibly difficult game. Houston’s a great program, obviously, Hall of Fame head coach, super tough team. And you know, we knew it was going to be a really challenging game. They did a great job on Walt [Walter Clayton Jr.] in the first half, we had some uncharacteristic turnovers.

“And you know, at halftime, that was the biggest difference. We had nine turnovers. They had two. Other than that. The game was pretty similar, and we just toughened up in the second half, our defense stepped up. I think we had nine stops in a row at one point. We got Walt loose a little bit in transition. He got going, obviously the big three at the under-four. And as always, we found a way to win the game.”

Golden’s pride in his team’s accomplishment

It wasn’t going to be an easy game, and it certainly wasn’t in the slightest. That’s why Todd Golden praised the effort put forth by his players, stating that he felt an immense sense of pride once the game had concluded.

“Incredibly proud,” Golden said once the game concluded. “You know, we knew that Houston was not gonna make it easy on us, and that’s what we needed tonight, to find a way to win. We had to find a way to get some stops and make the game really difficult for them, and we guarded our tail off in the second half.

And that last possession, Walt had a great closeout for [Emanuel] Sharp to put the ball on the floor. He realized he couldn’t pick it up, and Condo [Alex Condon] dove on the loose ball, and next thing I knew, the horn went off, and then we had won the game.”

Golden makes history at Florida

At just 39 years old, Todd Golden etched his name in Florida Gators history, securing his first title with the program after coaching the team for three seasons. How far will the success of the talented coach go?

“Been fortunate to have a great opportunity here at Florida, put ourselves in position to get the job, and fortunate to have an incredible staff,” Golden said.

“Man, our staff has been together for three years. We’re going to lose some guys here shortly to head jobs, which makes me really proud. And in three short years, we put together an incredible roster, obviously great basketball players, but great kids, great people. Mature, unselfish, resilient and they played with great urgency all year.”

While the defeat was disappointing, Sampson still cashed in big. The Houston coach earned multiple bonuses during March Madness, including a $300,000 payout for reaching the Final Four after an electrifying win over Tennessee. In total, Sampson secured $500,000 in bonuses throughout the tournament.

Golden, on the other hand, didn’t earn as many bonuses as Sampson—likely because of his already high base salary—but he still received a $50,000 bonus for winning the national title. That pushed his total March Madness bonus earnings to $175,000. With a nearly $4 million annual salary, the Gators coach isn’t exactly hurting for extra incentives.

Throughout the NCAA Tournament, coaches receive bonuses based on how far their teams advance, with the biggest payouts usually reserved for deep tournament runs and late-stage appearances. These stages often include matchups between underdogs and powerhouse programs.

How much do Todd Golden and Kelvin Sampson make?

Golden is set to earn $3.77 million by the end of the 2024–25 season, including his March Madness bonuses. According to USA Today, he ranks No. 34 among the highest-paid NCAA Division I coaches.

Interestingly, his salary is slightly below that of UConn women’s head coach Geno Auriemma, who makes $4.07 million and recently led his team to another national title.

Sampson earns significantly more than Golden, with a reported annual salary of approximately $4.7 million. That figure jumped from about $3.4 million two years ago when the Houston coach received a sizable pay raise.

The NBA champion who called Clayton Jr. a “winner” was Al Horford, who watched the game alongside the fans. He had the chance to quickly greet and congratulate the Gators player, who scored 11 points in what turned out to be a tightly contested matchup against the Cougars.

It’s worth noting that Al Horford is an integral part of the Gators’ history, having won two titles (2006, 2007) while playing for Florida. It was no surprise to see him at the final, supporting his team, which hadn’t reached the Final Four in quite some time.

However, Horford wasn’t the only NBA player spotted in the arena. Victor Wembanyama was also in attendance, watching the last game of March Madness. He was seated very close to Hakeem Olajuwon.

Could Walter Clayton Jr.’s draft stock improve?

Yes, his draft position will certainly see a significant boost after the win. He is likely to climb higher on various mock draft boards, which will feature him and other Florida Gators teammates as prospects for NBA teams looking to develop young talent.

How many National Titles did Clayton Jr. win with the Gators?

Clayton Jr. won a single title with the Gators. He joined Florida in the 2023-24 season, where he had the opportunity to play 36 games as a starter, the highest of his college career. In his final season, 2024-25, he set another notable mark with an average of 32.4 points per game, the highest of his tenure with the Gators and in his personal career.

That player was LJ Cryer, who had the chance to become a permanent part of NCAA Men’s College Basketball history. Cryer won his first national championship with the Baylor Bears in 2021, and had the Cougars won, he would’ve been the first player ever to win two titles with two different programs.

Unfortunately for Houston, they couldn’t hold on to their lead. The Gators, true to form, mounted a comeback and pulled off another national championship win — adding to their already rich history of March Madness success.

Watching the Cougars break down in tears after losing a game where they once held a 12-point lead is something that will resonate deeply, especially with Houston fans who traveled to Texas to support players like Cryer, who gave it their all in a matchup they initially controlled.

Does Cryer have a future in the NBA after losing the National Championship?

Cryer is undoubtedly a talented player who could turn professional someday. However, according to Athlon Sports, it’s highly likely that he will go undrafted. Additionally, he failed to make it into the top 50 NBA prospects list presented by analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo on ESPN during March Madness, which could significantly impact his professional career prospects.

Facing Florida wasn’t easy for Cryer. Following the game, several scouting reports pointed out that much of his performance was ‘average,’ with some plays being deemed desperate attempts when he could have simply passed the ball to a Cougars teammate. Nevertheless, in the 2024-25 season, he will leave behind a personal record of 37 games played in a single season—the highest of his career.

It won’t be an easy task, not by any means. Especially when facing a well-coached team led by the experienced Kelvin Sampson, for whom the Gators‘ HC holds deep respect. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll let their guard down; they’ll give it their all to win the game.

“I obviously respect everyone that we’re playing against,” Golden said, via ESPN. “We don’t fear people; we respect them. That goes for the coaches as well. All these guys that we’re competing against at this point are either Hall of Fame coaches or potentially on their way to being Hall of Fame coaches or really, really successful head coaches.”

The top two seeds from each region will face off in San Antonio to determine who will ultimately be crowned College Basketball champion. Two different approaches to the game: youth on one side, experience on the other. Despite this contrast, Golden and his team are confident in achieving their main goal.

Golden’s respect for the Cougars

In most cases, the two best teams of the season make it to the final game. Todd Golden knows this, not only because of the confidence he has in his own team, but also because he’ll be facing one of the most solid and consistent teams in College Basketball this season, the Houston Cougars.

“They’re the best defensive team in America. They have just a great identity as a program of just being both physically and mentally tough. That’s something we’ve tried to pride ourselves on this year. Houston I would say is a great example of that; not only this year but Coach Sampson and his program have done it for a long time now.

“Talk about resilience and toughness, I feel like they showed that in a big-time way (Saturday) night (in a 70-67 semifinal win against Duke). I think they were down 14 at one point, down seven with a minute and a half to go. Never quit, never gave up. Didn’t hang their heads. … Made some big-time winning plays down the stretch to take that game away from Duke.“

The Gators head coach finally concluded: “Houston obviously is exceptional. It’s going to be a big challenge for us (Monday) night.”

The Alamodome will be dressed to impress on Monday, April 7, as it will host the crowning of the new College Basketball champion. Sampson has made it clear on countless occasions that his team didn’t come just to compete; they are truly going all in to win the championship.

“I hear what people say. Duke this, Duke that. Duke’s great. Jon Scheyer is awesome. But don’t sleep on Houston,” the Cougars head coach told CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson after an epic comeback win.

Many had predicted a final between Clayton Jr. and Cooper Flagg, undoubtedly two of the best players of the season. However, the Houston Cougars took down one of the top contenders, and now they will be the ones to ultimately decide the tournament against Florida.

The Cougars’ persistence in victory against Duke

Kelvin Sampson anticipated a tight, tough game with little room for error. In fact, the Blue Devils managed to dominate them during several stretches of the game. Despite that, staying focused on the goal was one of the key factors in securing the victory.

However, the experienced coach made it clear to his players that the only way to lose is when one completely abandons their goals, something the Cougars had no intention of doing whatsoever.

“No one ever loses in anything as long as you don’t quit. If you quit, I don’t care. You’ve lost. But I started thinking in my timeouts we’ve been here before,” Sampson said to the press.

“It’s not like we were down 20,” the head coach Sampson also added. “We felt like if we can get it close enough to get game pressure on them, that something good can happen.”

In a Lucas Oil Stadium that certainly made its presence felt, the Cougars had to stay strong against a crowd that clearly leaned in favor of the Boilermakers. Kelvin Sampson noticed the charged atmosphere in the stands and didn’t hesitate to highlight it in his post-game remarks to the press.

“I thought Purdue played hard. I thought their crowd was tremendous,” the Cougars HC stated once the game concluded. “So for us, just finding a way to win. It’s what we’ve been pretty good at all year.”

Once again relying on the outstanding performance of their star Milos Uzan, the Houston Cougars managed to weather a tight game until the end, staying in contention to win. As a result, they secured their spot among the eight top contenders for the title.

Uzan’s reflection after the victory over Purdue

While Sampson has a roster worthy of a title contender, there’s no doubt that his star player, Milos Uzan, has been having an outstanding season. After the game, the standout player spoke with the press and expressed his excitement about reaching the Elite Eight.

“That was beautiful,” Uzan said of the way the play unfolded via ESPN.com. “Especially in a moment like this, Sweet 16 to go to the Elite Eight.”

Uzan was one of the standout performers of the day, scoring 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, along with six assists and three rebounds. Can the point guard maintain his level and finally crown it with a title alongside his teammates?

What’s next for the Cougars?

After defeating Purdue 62-60 and advancing to the Elite Eight of March Madness, Kelvin Sampson’s team will now face the Tennessee Volunteers next Sunday, March 30, once again in Indianapolis.

In recent statements to the press, the experienced Houston Cougars head coach acknowledged that Purdue has, without a doubt, one of the best players in the league in Braden Smith, a player who can make a difference at any moment.

“Basketball IQ off the charts,” Kelvin Sampson said via Joseph Duarte on X (formerly Twitter). “Arguably the best point guard in the nation,” he also added.

Smith leads Matt Painter’s team in several statistics. He is averaging 16 points per game and also tops the Big Ten in total minutes played, assists, and steals.

The geographical disadvantage for Houston

Next Friday, March 28th, the Cougars and Boilermakers will go head-to-head to determine who advances to the next stage in this thrilling March Madness. The game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which some analysts view as a geographical disadvantage for Sampson’s team.

Popular college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein made his stance clear regarding the significant disadvantage the Cougars face heading into this crucial Sweet 16 matchup.

“This is as ridiculous of a geographic situation that I have ever seen for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament in almost 20 years of covering the sport at the national level,” Rothstein said. “Houston is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and all we hear about is that the top seeds should be in a situation, as frequently as possible, where they are protected geographically. Well, the Cougars are not protected geographically.”

It was known in advance that it wouldn’t be an easy task to defeat Mark Few’s team, which, despite some ups and downs, had a standout performance throughout the regular season in College Basketball.

This is why, after the game at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Sampson expressed his happiness not only for securing the victory but also for doing so against a worthy opponent like the Bulldogs.

“Let’s stop and congratulate Mark Few and Gonzaga,” Sampson said on the court. “For what they’ve accomplished, and been such a shining light for basketball programs and basketball coaches for a long, long time. There’s nobody I respect more than Mark Few, and there’s not a basketball program I respect more than Gonzaga. We beat a hell of a program tonight. That makes it even more significant.”

While in the lead-up to the game, the matchup against the Bulldogs was expected to be somewhat even, the reality was that the Cougars lived up to their status as contenders and didn’t give their opponent a chance to find their rhythm, sealing the victory with a narrow final score of 81-76.

Sampson’s gesture towards his opponents

Kelvin Sampson may be one of the most experienced coaches in College Basketball, but what sets him apart even more is his empathy towards his opponents, whether his teams win or lose.

One of the standout moments of the game in which his Cougars finally defeated Gonzaga came when the Houston coach approached Khalif Battle to comfort him, as he couldn’t hold back his sadness after the loss, in a rare, paternal gesture.

What’s next for the Cougars?

The Sweet 16 awaits with open arms for the Houston Cougars, who will next face the Purdue Boilermakers. The game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Friday, March 28.

Once the title was secured against Tommy Lloyd’s team, one of the questions that was naturally directed at Sampson was about the potential return of Roberts to the court, who missed the final stretch of the tournament due to his ankle injury.

CBB insider Jon Rothstein revealed through his official X (formerly Twitter) account the message from the Cougars‘ HC, who stated that there are still no certainties regarding J’Wan Roberts’ possible participation this week.

“Houston’s J’Wan Roberts (ankle) is receiving treatment and will be re-evaluated tomorrow in terms of his status for the Cougars’ first NCAA Tournament game this week, per Kelvin Sampson. DNP in last two games. Averages 10.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG,” Rothstein reported via @JonRothstein.

Roberts is one of the most experienced and talented players on the Houston team. If he is unable to participate in the upcoming games, it will undoubtedly be a significant loss for Sampson’s squad.

What will be the future of the Cougars in the NCAA Championship?

Although their future is still undecided, winning the Big 12 Championship has allowed Kelvin Sampson’s team to secure one of the top seeds in the league.

According to reports shared by Joseph Duarte through his official X (formerly Twitter) account, it seems that the Cougars requested to participate in the West Region, which means they would play their games in San Francisco.

“For what it’s worth as Selection Sunday approaches, I was told by two different people today that Houston has requested the West Region, which plays second weekend in San Francisco,” Duarte reported via @Joseph_Duarte.

The regular season ended badly for the Tigers with four consecutive losses after winning four of the first five games earlier in the season. But the games against SEC rivals were tough for the Auburn Tigers.

Houston Cougars had much better fortune than the Tigers in the regular season, they lost the first game of the season but after that loss the team won 11 consecutive games to lose the American conference title against Cincinnati in the last game of the season.

Auburn vs Houston: Match Information

Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021.
Time: 12:00 PM (ET)
Location: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama.
Live Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial)

Auburn vs Houston: Times by State in the US

ET: 12:00 PM
CT: 11:00 AM
MT: 10:00 AM
PT: 9:00 AM

Auburn vs Houston: Storylines

The Auburn Tigers won the first game of the season against Akron 60-10 at home and in Week 2 against Alabama State 62-0, but that winning streak came to an end with a loss to No. 10 Penn State on the road 20- 28. The Tigers played well for the first eight weeks of the 2021-22 NCAA season. The last four games of the season for the Tigers were losses to Texas A&M, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama.

TJ Finley is the new starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers after Bo Nix was transferred to Oregon. Finley has thrown this season for 51/91 passes completed, 56%, 600 yards, 6.6 yards per attempt, 5 touchdowns with one interception.

The Cougars were lethal for most of the regular season, even though they lost the first game of the season to Texas Tech 21-38 the team never stopped and won eleven games. The most painful loss of the season was against No. 3 Cincinnati on the road, that was the title game of the American Conference, the Cougars lost 20-35.

Clayton Tune is the starting quarterback for the Houston Cougars with 261/381 passes completed, 68.5%, 3263 yards, 8.6 yards per attempt, 28 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Alton McCaskill is the Cougars’ top running back with 883 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.

How To Watch Or Stream Live Free Auburn vs Houston in the U.S.

This 2021-22 NCAA College Football season Birmingham Bowl game will be available for TV and smartphones and will be broadcast in the United States by: FuboTV (Free Trial) and other options available in the US are ESPN, ESPN App. Don’t forget to download the app to watch the game on your smartphone, table or computer.

Auburn vs Houston: Predictions And Odds

Auburn Tigers are favorites to win this game by -2.5 points and -127 moneyline at FanDuel, they will have a major offensive problem during this game due to the absence of Bo Nix. Houston Cougars are underdogs with +2.5 ATS and +117 moneyline. The totals is offered at 51.5 points. The best pick for this College Football Bowl game is: Houston Cougars +2.5.

* Odds via FanDuel