Jewish coach leads Florida Gators to first NCAA victory in 17 years

In just his third season, the 39-year-old became the youngest coach since 1983 to hoist the championship trophy.

By Jewish Breaking News

The Florida Gators are national champions after edging the Houston Cougars 65-63 in a defensive masterpiece inside San Antonio’s Alamodome on Monday night.

For most of the game, a third national title felt distant for the Gators. Houston’s vaunted defense, the best in the nation, lived up to its reputation, stifling Florida’s attack and methodically building a lead that stretched to 12 points in the second half.

The Gators, who found themselves trailing for all but 64 seconds of the entire contest, often looked overwhelmed and outmatched.

But this Florida team, hardened by comeback victories throughout their tournament run, refused to break.

Trailing 63-62 in the final minute, guard Alijah Martin stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots, giving Florida its first lead since the opening minutes with just 46.5 seconds left on the clock.

From there, it was all about defense. Houston, a team that hadn’t lost all season when holding opponents under 70 points, couldn’t find an answer.

Florida forced turnovers on consecutive possessions, shutting down the Cougars’ potent offense.

Sports bettors must have had a field day when on the final play, Houston’s Israeli-American guard Emanuel Sharp drove for a potential game-winner, but Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. met him with suffocating defense, preventing Sharp from even getting a shot off as time expired.

Houston wouldn’t score again in the final two minutes.

“It’s just how connected we all are,” senior guard Will Richard might have said amidst the celebration, having carried the Gators offensively with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Clayton Jr., despite a tough shooting night (11 points) under defensive pressure, delivered the ultimate defensive play when it mattered most.

The victory marks a triumphant return to the pinnacle of college basketball for Florida, their first title since the back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.

It also cemented a place in history for head coach Todd Golden. In just his third season, the 39-year-old became the youngest coach since Jim Valvano in 1983 to hoist the championship trophy.

Notably, Golden also became the first Jewish head coach since Larry Brown led Kansas to victory in 1988 to win the men’s NCAA Division I title.

“Every time, it doesn’t matter how. We can outscore people, we can get to a hundo. Tonight, we had to do it a different way. We played an incredibly tough, gritty, great program. We had to win an ugly game,” Golden said post game.

“What we just did, nobody can ever take that away from us. Each and every one of you guys are national f—— champions.”