NCAA national championship prediction: Houston an overwhelming favorite by experts
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Several college basketball experts believe Houston will finally cut down the nets and win a national title on Monday.
It’s a stark contrast to the Cougars’ previous game, when they were a decided underdog to Duke. But Houston erased a 14-point second-half deficit in one of the most dramatic comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, prevailing 70-67 in Saturday’s national semifinals.
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Now, can the Cougars carry that momentum over into Monday’s championship game against Florida? It will be a matchup of two of the top three ranked teams in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls prior to the tournament; Houston at No. 2 while Florida was No. 3.
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Incidentally, the No. 1 team in both of those polls? None other than Duke.
Experts pick Houston to finally prevail
On Monday, ESPN.com released its selections for the national championship game. Two experts made those selections, and each favored Houston.
Jeff Borzello picks the Cougars to win, 67-65, while Myron Medcalf also has the Cougars prevailing in a one-possession decision, 70-67. Both Borzello and Medcalf picked Duke to beat Houston, so take that for what it’s worth.
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Then CBS Sports’ college basketball insider, Jon Rothstein, also picks Houston to win, publicly announcing his decision on Ben Scott Stevens’ show on the sports betting channel SportsGrid.
"There's something about the Cougars.. the culture" ☝️@JonRothstein talks tonight's #NationalChampionship showdown with @BenScottStevens
— SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) April 7, 2025
Kelvin Sampson To Get Career Win 800? 👀#MarchMadness #NCAAM #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/PtKTdQfgmN
Rothstein noted that while the Gators have the best guard in the tournament in Walter Clayton Jr., he also mentioned the tenacity of the Houston program and of Cougar coach Kelvin Sampson.
“There’s something about the Cougars, there’s something about Kelvin Sampson, there’s something about the culture in this program and we saw that on Saturday night against Duke,” Rothstein said.
Another reason Rothstein gives the Cougars an edge will be that the Alamodome is slightly less than 200 miles away from the Fertitta Center, and that Houston fans will show up in droves to watch their team perhaps finally win its first-ever national title in men’s basketball.
“I feel like there’s going to be a major red feeling throughout San Antonio later (Monday), and I feel like Kelvin Sampson, at 69 years of age, will have his life and his career complete by winning a national championship,” Rothstein said.
Rothstein picking Houston to win shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. After all, the Cougars were his pick to cut down the nets entering the NCAA Tournament - beating Florida in the title game.
We’ll see in a few hours if Houston can indeed prove the experts right and get that long-awaited title trophy.
