After a night spent locking up college basketball's hottest shooter, Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., the roles reversed for Houston guard Emanuel Sharp on the biggest play of Monday night's national championship game.
Houston, which led by as much as 12 points during the game, needed a bucket to tie or win the game on the final possession. Sharp rose up for a deep three with just under five seconds left on the clock, but changed his mind as Clayton Jr. made an aggressive close-out. Sharp was caught in no man's land, with no one to pass to in mid-air, and the potential for Clayton to block his shot, and wound up dropping the ball. He scrambled to box out Gators players, hoping one of his teammates would be able to grab the ball and put up a desperate heave, to no avail. Florida would finish with a two-point victory, 65–63, to capture its first national championship since 2007.
