Past Experience Preps Gators for Away Atmosphere in Title Game

Playing Houston in the Cougars' home state for the national championship, the Florida Gators are using its past experience in the SEC Tournament while relying on its travelling fanbase for Monday's title bout.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Florida Gators guard Isaiah Brown (20) reacts with the crowd after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO-- Monday's national championship will be a neutral site matchup on record, but Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden knows it will feel more like an away game against Houston in the Cougars' home state of Texas.

"It's just part of what you have to get through to win a national championship," Golden said. "Houston is an amazing team. They deserve this opportunity. Obviously, they're going to have some great momentum. They should have a lot of people here tomorrow night."

The away atmosphere in a neutral site is nothing new for Florida, though.

Golden and the Gators are using the team's past experience in the SEC Tournament to relate to Monday's title matchup.

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the SEC Tournament saw Florida meet rival Tennessee in the final, and despite the Volunteers holding the crowd advantage, it was the Gators who walked away victorious for the conference title with an 86-77 win.

Now playing in an arena three hours away from their opponent's campus, Florida is using the lessons learned from its time in Nashville as the program looks to win its third national championship.

"Obviously playing Tennessee in Nashville. I probably took for granted what that environment would be like," Golden said. "We walked in there, and it was 80% Tennessee fans. I was like, man, we got a road game to try to win the SEC title. I anticipate it being somewhat like that tomorrow as well."

While the environment is expected to be heavily in Houston's favor, Florida's fanbase are no slouches, either. After selling out most of its home games, Golden has seen the fanbase's support carry over despite not playing an in-state game since the regular season.

Since playing in Nashville, Florida has made stops in Raleigh, San Francisco and now San Antonio, but the high energy from those among Gator Nation in attendance have boosted the Gators during its postseason run.

"It's been awesome, man," Golden said. "Our players really appreciate it. Our staff appreciates it. I know our fans and our alums and our boosters enjoy being back in this environment, being back having an opportunity to compete to win a national championship. We're just hopeful that we continue to bring them joy and have them be able to enjoy the experience."

Florida will go for its third national championship in program history at 8:50 p.m. ET with television coverage on CBS.