A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The University of Connecticut is back on top of women's college basketball after a dominating 23-point win over defending champs South Carolina. It's the first championship win for the UConn women since 2016 and a record 12th title overall. It also gives UConn star and senior Paige Bueckers the last thing missing from her impressive collegiate resume. After the game, she spoke about what it meant.
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PAIGE BUECKERS: So many emotions, gratitude was the main one - of the journey, of the ups and downs, of everything that it took to get to that point - and just overwhelming joy and just so happy for every single person who was a part of this journey.
MART脥NEZ: Tonight, it's the men's championship, University of Florida versus the University of Houston. And they face off in San Antonio. That's where reporter Greg Echlin is there to give us a preview. So, Greg, all the Final Four teams are No. 1 seeds. The two playing in the championship game tonight are very different in what way?
GREG ECHLIN, BYLINE: Well, it starts with the coaches leading the teams. Kelvin Sampson, the head coach of the Houston Cougars, will turn 70 later this year. He became a college head coach in the 1980s and has taken two different schools to the Final Four, Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston in 2022, but has never made it to the title game. If the Cougars win, Sampson would become the oldest Division I head coach to capture a championship. Florida's coach, Todd Golden, will turn 40 in July and is in his third year as the Gators head coach after previously being at the University of San Francisco.
MART脥NEZ: And two of the other big differences, too, is that Florida is the third highest scoring team in the country. Houston has the best defense in the country. So two forces going up against each other - I can't wait to see it. And the basketball history, too, Greg, at each school is pretty different.
ECHLIN: Oh, yes. Most people probably think of Florida as a football school, but it's no stranger to basketball success, either. The Gators repeated as NCAA champions in 2006 and 2007. When the Gators played in the Saturday night semifinal, former Gators coach Billy Donovan was there because he was named earlier in the day as part of this year's basketball Hall of Fame class. He coached the Gators in '06 and '07. That moment was not lost on Golden.
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TODD GOLDEN: I would say it was really neat, you know, to be able to do it with him in the building, with him being honored, you know, and for all of our fans and supporters that were here. Just an incredible full circle moment.
ECHLIN: Houston has been to the Final Four seven times but hasn't won a championship. That's the most Final Four appearances for a Division I school without a title.
MART脥NEZ: Which is shocking, Greg, because they have had some incredible ballplayers.
ECHLIN: Yes, they have. The Cougars are making the school's first title game appearance since 1984, when Hakeem Olajuwon was the starting center. Olajuwon attended the semifinal game. And Clyde Drexler, another starter on that team, expected to be in attendance tonight. They were regulars in the NBA. Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts says he knows a national championship is not only important to this team but a tribute to everyone who's played at Houston.
J'WAN ROBERTS: You can see, you know, on their face that they're especially happy, knowing that they went to University of Houston, and for us to be, you know, back at the top from where they was at.
ECHLIN: This game should be a treat. The Houston Cougars rely on their defense, limiting opponents to only 59 points a game. And Florida likes to score, averaging 85 points a game. So something has to give.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah, something has to give. I know Florida is favorite by 1 1/2 points. (Laughter) And you can't score a half point, but that means it's going to be a pretty close game. That's sports reporter Greg Echlin in San Antonio, the site of tonight's men's championship title game. Greg, thanks a lot.
ECHLIN: You're welcome.
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