The Florida Gators and Houston Cougars face off in what should be a thriller of a National Championship game tonight.
The Cougars are looking for their first title in program history while the Gators aim to cut down the nets for the first time since winning back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.
Before making your March Madness picks, check out the last-minute news, injury updates, and odds you need to know for today's national title game from the Alamodome in San Antonio.
1 Florida vs 1 Houston
8:50 p.m. ET | San Antonio, TX | CBS
Florida vs Auburn line movement
Before the Final Four, the lookahead line for this hypothetical matchup had Florida as a 1.5-point favorite and -125 on the moneyline with the Over/Under at 143.5.
When the official odds for this game dropped at bet365, the Gators were installed as 1-point faves and -120 on the ML with the O/U at 141.5. A little bit of money has flowed in on Houston and the Under, shifting Florida's ML price to -115 and bringing the total in by half a point.
It's worth noting that all college basketball analytics sites (KenPom, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya, and Haslametrics) favor Houston slightly. Books may have the Cougars installed as small underdogs due to futures liabilities with Florida.
Road to the National Championship Game
These teams have been dominant this season but were tested in the Final Four. Houston has lost just once since the start of December, and hasn't lost in regulation since November 9 when Auburn edged them in a nail-biter.
However, Houston trailed almost the entire game against Duke in the Final Four and was down 14 points with eight minutes remaining. The Cougars fought back and went on a miracle 9-0 run in the final 35 seconds to win 70-67.
Meanwhile, the Gators are 17-1 SU and 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games with an incredible 11 victories against ranked opponents during that span. The Gators trailed Auburn 46-38 at halftime on Saturday but came out strong down the stretch to pull away for a 6-point win.
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Injury Watch
Both teams are healthy for the title game with no key players sidelined by injuries. Florida center Alex Condon has been bothered by a sprained ankle that flared up in the Sweet 16. However, he's been playing through the injury and says he's between 80 and 90%.
Houston got a scare when Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Joseph Tugler tweaked his ankle early against Duke on Saturday. However, he soon returned to the floor and played well, finishing with eight rebounds and four blocks in 25 minutes.
Head-to-head history
These programs haven't played against each other in more than 50 years. There could be a feeling-out process since they don't have much time to prepare following the Final Four games on Saturday.
Florida head coach Todd Golden was very familiar with Auburn since the Tigers are a conference foe, and he was previously an assistant under Bruce Pearl. However, he'll have a tough time preparing his team for Houston's elite defense on a short turnaround.
To be fair, there will also be unfamiliarity on the Cougars' part, but coach Kelvin Sampson has previously game-planned against teams that use ball screen continuity and zoom offense concepts.
