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SAN ANTONIO — Houston had turnovers on three straight possessions to end the national championship and Florida basketball celebrated as orange-and-white confetti floated toward the court inside the Alamodome.
In a 65-63 win for the Gators on Monday night at the Final Four in San Antonio, the Cougars didn’t get a shot off in the final 85 seconds.
That’s what was going through Houston coach Kelvin Sampson’s mind after the loss, the Cougars’ first defeat since Feb. 1.
“Yeah, I'm just going through those last two possessions more than anything else. Incomprehensible in that situation we couldn't get a shot. Couldn't get a shot,” Sampson said.
“We're down two, and obviously we didn't need a three. But with Emanuel (Sharp), we were struggling to score the entire second half. We got good looks. But Florida was doing a good job running us off the (3-point) line and forcing us to score it. We just didn't do a very good job of finishing some shots.”
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Houston had two turnovers in the first half and seven in the second half, including four in the final 81 seconds. On the final possession, Sharp collected the ball on the wing and jumped to shoot a 3-pointer. As Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. flew toward Sharp to contest the shot, Sharp let go of the ball to avoid a travel call on the landing.
Florida center Alex Condon dove on the floor to collect the loose ball before throwing it to Clayton as the final buzzer sounded, which sparked the Florida celebration in front of 66,602 fans.
“Didn’t execute it. We ran the play, but we didn’t execute it,” Houston guard L.J. Cryer said. “We made a mistake. Mistakes happen in basketball. It is what it is. We can’t do it over now.”
Sampson broke down what he told the Cougars during a timeout ahead of their final possession with 19 seconds left.
“One of the last things we told (Sharp) was, ‘If they run at you, shot fake it, get the ball in the paint, give us a chance to get an offensive rebound,’ ” Sampson said. “Obviously, he thought he must’ve thought he could get the shot off. That’s what happens.”
Cryer gave Florida credit for defending well in crunch time, including the final play.
"In games like this, it just comes down to who’s gonna make more plays," Cryer said. "They made more plays down the stretch.”
But, Sampson added, “you’ve got to get a shot” and “got to do better than that” with the game up for grabs on the final possession.
“Two great teams. Two tough teams,” Sampson said. “We lost by two points. They made one more play than we did tonight.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Kelvin Sampson, LJ Cryer explain Houston's final possession vs Florida
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In a 65-63 win for the Gators on Monday night at the Final Four in San Antonio, the Cougars didn’t get a shot off in the final 85 seconds.
That’s what was going through Houston coach Kelvin Sampson’s mind after the loss, the Cougars’ first defeat since Feb. 1.
“Yeah, I'm just going through those last two possessions more than anything else. Incomprehensible in that situation we couldn't get a shot. Couldn't get a shot,” Sampson said.
“We're down two, and obviously we didn't need a three. But with Emanuel (Sharp), we were struggling to score the entire second half. We got good looks. But Florida was doing a good job running us off the (3-point) line and forcing us to score it. We just didn't do a very good job of finishing some shots.”
Buy Florida championship book, page prints, gear
Houston had two turnovers in the first half and seven in the second half, including four in the final 81 seconds. On the final possession, Sharp collected the ball on the wing and jumped to shoot a 3-pointer. As Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. flew toward Sharp to contest the shot, Sharp let go of the ball to avoid a travel call on the landing.
Florida center Alex Condon dove on the floor to collect the loose ball before throwing it to Clayton as the final buzzer sounded, which sparked the Florida celebration in front of 66,602 fans.
“Didn’t execute it. We ran the play, but we didn’t execute it,” Houston guard L.J. Cryer said. “We made a mistake. Mistakes happen in basketball. It is what it is. We can’t do it over now.”
Sampson broke down what he told the Cougars during a timeout ahead of their final possession with 19 seconds left.
“One of the last things we told (Sharp) was, ‘If they run at you, shot fake it, get the ball in the paint, give us a chance to get an offensive rebound,’ ” Sampson said. “Obviously, he thought he must’ve thought he could get the shot off. That’s what happens.”
Cryer gave Florida credit for defending well in crunch time, including the final play.
"In games like this, it just comes down to who’s gonna make more plays," Cryer said. "They made more plays down the stretch.”
But, Sampson added, “you’ve got to get a shot” and “got to do better than that” with the game up for grabs on the final possession.
“Two great teams. Two tough teams,” Sampson said. “We lost by two points. They made one more play than we did tonight.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Kelvin Sampson, LJ Cryer explain Houston's final possession vs Florida
Continue reading...
