Only Gators Get Out Alive

Florida cuts down the nets in 2025 to secure their 3rd National Title

Coach Kessler (Newspaper Advisor)

The 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball season has come to a close, and the Florida Gators are your National Champions. Beating Houston, Todd Golden, 39, is the youngest coach to win a National Title since Jim Valvano led the cardiac Pack to a National Title win over… you guessed it, Houston.

While the Cougars seem snake bitten in Final Fours, Kelvin Sampson has built a consistent winner down in H-Town. Houston fans have nothing to hang their heads about, and should be excited as this team continues to build towards the future.

While Florida was the most picked champion in our March Madness pool (2nd year in a row that the most picked team won it all), the preseason prognostication by Coach Kessler did not have the Gators cutting down the nets. In fact, Coach Kessler did not have them in his Top 25. Let’s review all the hits and misses of his preseason Top 25:

MISSES:

24) Rutgers- How was I supposed to know that two future first rounders (Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper) wouldn’t lead to success in Piscataway?

23) Cincinnati- Houston’s move to the Big XII has been a major success. However, Cincinnati… not so much. Wes Miller finds himself firmly on the hot seat in 2025-2026.

20) Wake Forest- While technically a miss, the Demon Deacons were a solid team. I would have rather had them in the tourney than some of the disappointments.

4) Kansas- Kansas was a 7 seed, but they were largely a disappointment. Hunter Dickinson’s career went out with a whimper. Shame.

NR) Michigan St.- Tom Izzo and staff had a great season. The moves Izzo made in the offseason putting his ego aside and hiring new assistants helped Sparty win a Big Ten regular season title.

NR) Michigan- Dusty May had a phenomenal turnaround in Ann Arbor. Last year Michigan only had 8 wins and this year they won the Big Ten tournament and advanced to the second weekend.

NR) Florida- Ok… I don’t think anyone saw this coming before the season. Either way, I picked them to win the title when the bracket came out. That counts for something, right?

HITS:

5) Houston- We already talked about Houston, but after losing what they lost and still finishing this high, I feel vindicated.

2) Alabama- The Tide were what they are… hot and cold. In the Sweet 16 they couldn’t miss. In the Elite 8, shots couldn’t fall. Still, Nate Oats has made a powerhouse down in Tuscaloosa.

8) Iowa St.- While the tournament run was cut short, the Cyclones still had a great season in a rugged Big XII. They won’t have a lot of talent returning next year, but they’ve always had success bringing in talent from the portal.

25) St. Johns- While being ranked preseason 25 looks like it could be a miss, no one expected any success from the Johnnies this year. Pitino’s boys were the darlings of the Big Apple, and for good reason. Bringing a Big East regular season and tournament title back to New York has the alumni base rejuvenated.

10) Arizona- In the beginning of the season, this one really concerned me. However, Coach Lloyd and the boys from Tucson really turned their season around and had a great year. The ‘Cats got to the 2nd weekend and played Duke very tough. We will see how they reload and if more success is bound for the desert.

1)Duke- So, they did not win it all. But I still take this one as a hit. Duke was phenomenal all year. I still think they’re the best team in the country… they just had a bad 1:34 in the Final 4. There’s serious buzz about Cooper Flagg coming back… but I highly doubt it. Don’t worry about the Durham boys though… they’ll be back next year, reloaded.