College basketball experts reveal 2025 NCAA March Madness score predictions and national championship picks for Houston vs. Florida

The 2025 men's NCAA tournament started with 68 teams vying for this year's national championship, and now the field has been trimmed to the just two as the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars will square off for the title.

Three weeks ago, 24 staffers submitted their predictions for The Athletic’s consensus men’s NCAA Tournament bracket. Eleven voters picked Duke to win the national championship, followed by six for Florida and five for Houston.

College basketball experts reveal 2025 NCAA March Madness score predictions and national championship picks for Houston vs. Florida

Todd Golden’s Florida Gators face Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars for college basketball’s national title Monday night in the Alamodome.

Houston makes 45.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.1 percentage points higher than Florida has allowed to its opponents (40.1%). Florida has shot at a 47.3% r

Florida basketball and Houston will meet for the NCAA Tournament title on Monday as two programs with contrasting styles and coaches. Here's a breakdown:

The 2025 men's NCAA tournament is down to the final two teams. Florida narrowly defeated Auburn in their Final Four game, winning 79-73. But that's practically nothing compared to Houston coming back to stun Duke 70-67.

Whoever said there were no great underdog stories left in March Madness, or that the title would go to whichever team spends the most money — or amasses the gaudiest collection of big names from the transfer portal — probably never checked out Houston.