Kelvin Sampson Calls Houston's Final Moments 'Incomprehensible'

8 Apr, 2025

Rewritten Version:

SAN ANTONIO — Nearly an hour after the final buzzer, with orange and blue confetti littering the Alamodome floor, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson stood alone behind a black curtain, facing the harsh glare of TV lights.

At 69, Sampson looked weary — his gray polo marked with a Final Four pin, his salt-and-pepper hair catching the light, his arms folded tightly across his chest. The weight of a crushing loss hung heavily on him.

Houston had led by 12 points in the second half. They controlled nearly the entire national championship game. And yet, in stunning fashion, Florida snatched the title away, closing with four straight Cougar turnovers to win 65-63.

"There’s a lot of teams that aren’t built for six straight wins," Sampson said, referencing the NCAA tournament gauntlet. "This team was. Character, toughness, leadership — this team was built to win it. That’s what makes this so hard. We were right there."

The Collapse

Two nights earlier, Houston had stunned Duke with a last-minute comeback for the ages. This time, it was Houston on the wrong end of history.

Florida, trailing almost the entire game, didn’t take its first second-half lead until 46 seconds remained. What followed was a shocking meltdown.

Star guard Emanuel Sharp committed turnovers on Houston’s final two possessions — his only giveaways of the night. The first came when Florida’s Will Richard stripped him on a drive with 26 seconds left. The second came after a frantic final sequence in which Sharp, isolated far from the arc, rose for a desperation 3-pointer — only to be met mid-air by Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., whose block sealed the Gators' comeback.

Sharp crumpled near half court, fists pressed to his forehead, devastated.

"I told him I loved him," Sampson said. "We don’t get here without him. He guarded Clayton better than anyone all year. He’ll want a couple plays back — that’s basketball."

A Brutal Ending

The Cougars' collapse was unthinkable. They led for all but 63 seconds. Yet Florida completed the third-largest comeback in NCAA title game history.

Houston's locker room was silent. Guard Milos Uzan shielded Sharp from reporters as Sharp, draped in a towel, sobbed uncontrollably.

"That's me, bro," Sharp was overheard saying before unleashing an anguished scream.

Forward Joseph Tugler summed up the mood simply: "That broke everybody's heart."

The final minute unraveled with uncharacteristic sloppiness:

Tugler threw away an offensive rebound.
LJ Cryer drove baseline with nowhere to go and lost the ball.
Then came Sharp’s two crushing turnovers.

"It was right there for the taking," Cryer said.

Sampson's Missed Milestone

A win would have given Sampson his 800th career victory and likely secured his place in the Hall of Fame. Instead, after the handshake line, he hurried off the floor in stunned silence. His daughter Lauren greeted him in the tunnel with a hug.

"I’m OK," he told her quietly.

In the locker room, Houston’s assistants sat in disbelief. Sampson’s son, Kellen, reflected on the cruel nature of March Madness.

"It’s a brutal, cruel guillotine," he said. "You can do everything right and still lose. The margins are razor-thin. We did enough to win — but so did Florida. And tonight, they got it."

Would you like me to rewrite the second article too?