In the last 7 seasons, Kelvin Sampson has the best overall record with the most wins in Division I (216). But when it mattered the most, his Houston team faltered under pressure to Florida. The win would have made him the oldest coach with the championship, but those dreams remain crushed for now. During the game, the Gators trailed by as many as 12, were finally ahead at 64-63 — its first lead since 8-6 in the first half. Throughout the game, Todd Golden’s side led only for a minute and 4 seconds. But more stats explain how the Cougars lost it at the end!

“Houston had four turnovers in the first 36:35,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello added on X. “Houston turned it over five times in the final 3:24, including three times in the final minute.” It was Emanuel Sharp, who not only gave away a turnover but also his hesitation cost the game for Kelvin Sampson and co. Earlier in the game, on Houston’s penultimate offensive possession, Sharp lost control of the ball while trying to drive through three Gators defenders, turning it over to Florida.

Knowing this, a fan wrote, “Sampson meltdown again.” The sentiment is not wrong, as the head coach did call out his player Sharp in the post-game press conference. “At the end, you’ve gotta get a shot. You’ve gotta do better than that.” With under five seconds remaining, he had a chance to take a long-range 3-pointer, but instead, he hesitated and pulled the ball down, opting not to take the shot. This decision meant he couldn’t touch the ball, or it would be a turnover, causing the clock to run out and sealing the loss for Houston.

Despite the loss, the 69-year-old had a lot of praise for his team. “And I am disappointed that we lost. But I’m more appreciative that I got a chance to coach this group.” But the netizens have a different say to the ending to the one of the most thrilling finals ever.

Fans don’t sing Kelvin Sampson’s praise after the close loss to the Gators

In the early goings, it felt that both teams were nervous on the biggest stage. It showed in their shooting as the Houston side had 7-14 from midrange and 0-7 from 3-point range. Florida also equally suffered with 4-7 from 2 point range and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Importantly, the Gators were prone to turnover as they had 9 in comparison to Cougars just one. But in the final few minutes of the game, it was Todd Golden’s team that was completely locked in. And a fan in appreciation wrote, “Florida hacked tf out Houston.”

One fan would question the defensive culture of Houston as that narrative dominated the headlines. “All those “culture vultures” are going to have a difficult time explaining this.” Frankly, Houston was the top defensive team in the tournament. They managed to limit the consensus number 1 2025 NBA draft pick, Cooper Flagg, during the Final Four. The joke on the Blue Devils’ choke theme continued.

In the final four encounter, Kelvin Sampson’s team stifled the entire Duke team, who had a grand total of one field goal over the last 10 1/2 minutes. Even Flagg missed his jumper in the dying minutes to establish a lead. That’s why a fan added, “Pulling a Duke.”

With 2 minutes and 5 seconds remaining on the clock, Joseph Tugler made a Free Throw. That would turn out to be the final point for the team. Ultimately, the Gators won the tournament, 65-63. But one of the netizens couldn’t forget the bad play from Houston. “Epic gag!”