Florida Preparing for a War in Trenches Against Houston

Rebounding will continue to be a point of emphasis for Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden as the team prepares for the national championship.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Florida Gators center Rueben Chinyelu (9) blocks and grabs the ball against Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO-- When the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars take the court on Monday for the national Championship, it’s going to be a dog fight in every facet of the game. 

However, one of the most crucial areas in this contest will be rebounding.

“I think a big part of this game tomorrow is going to be the battle of the boards,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said. “Every rebound we get is going to feel like we won the game.”

Florida sits inside the top 10 in rebound rate with a 55.7 rebound rate, according to TeamRankings. Their competitors aren’t too far behind, though. Houston enters this matchup with a rebound rate of 54.0%, which is good enough for 18th in the NCAA. 

The surprising thing about Houston being ranked where they are is that they play bigger than what the measurements state. 

Their leading rebounder on the year is J’Wan Roberts, who stands at 6-foot-8, with 6.5 rebounds a game. Then, their second leading rebounder, Joseph Tugler, is listed as 6-foot-8 as well and brings down 5.9 boards a game. That’s not too tall for starting players in the frontcourt.

On the Gators side, the four bigs they put on the court all are listed at 6-foot-9 or taller. Furthermore, Rueben Chinyelu is listed at 6-foot-10, Alex Condon at 6-foot-11 and Micah Handlogten at 7-foot-1. Additionally, all four guys haul in at least five rebounds a game with Condon leading the way at 7.6. 

As easy as it sounds, the Gators will need to use their size to their advantage against Houston, but it sounds like Condon is aware of this. 

“If we use our height and our length, make big plays in the rebound margin, we’re going to be good for tomorrow,” Condon said on Sunday. 

Florida’s bigs will need to make sure that they don’t mistake their opponents lack of size for lack of effort rebounding, though. Houston almost always loses the height battle to each team and they still are 29th in the nation in rebounding margin, holding a 5.4 rebounding margin. 

Even more impressive, the Cougars dominated Duke on the glass in their Final Four matchup. The Cougars out-rebounded Blue Devils 42 to 31 and 18 to 10 on the offensive end. 

However, it can’t just be the big men worrying about the rebounds. It has to be an all-out effort from every Gator on the court, Golden said. 

“There’s a lot of accountability with our rebounding and the way we break down film and show not just our bigs but our perimeter as well,” Golden said. I think that’s going to be really important, our guard rebounding tomorrow night.”

Golden also issued a warning to his players should they show little effort rebounding. 

“Just the bar, the way our guys understand if they’re not physical, if they don’t rebound, there are a couple guys behind them or that are on the bench that are going to be willing to do it.” Golden stated. 

Florida will take the court Monday for the national championship against Houston at 8:50 p.m. ET. Television coverage can be found on CBS.