The final game of the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament was No. 1 seed Florida facing No. 1 Houston in the national title game.
Houston took a 31-28 lead into halftime as Florida’s best player, Walter Clayton Jr., had a goose egg in the first half.
Toward the end of the first half, the referees caught plenty of heat after a controversial no-call on Florida big man Micah Handlogten.
Instead of a goaltending call, Florida got the rebound and hit a three-pointer right before the end of the half.
Well, the start of the second half was much different. Florida had been called for seven personal fouls in the first six minutes of the half.
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson reacts after a play against the Florida Gators.
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Then, after Florida’s Will Richard was called for a foul, the Gators bench was not happy.
To make things worse, Florida was whistled for a technical foul as coaches came off the bench onto the court.
In the first half, there were only four fouls called, with Florida receiving one and Houston getting three, so it’s quite the change of pace.
As a result, fans were convinced that the referees were showing their bias in favor of Houston.
“Who paid these refs? Cause Florida Isn’t getting any calls,” one fan asked.
“Houston paid the hell out these refs because they ain’t calling ANYTHING but fouls on Fla,” another said.
“Why do refs swallow their whistles so hard for Houston,” another wrote.
“Refs are letting Houston get away with everything,” said another.
“Sure would be nice if the Gators didn’t have to play against the refs every game,” another fan wrote.
“Refs have Houston,” another said.
“Houston vs Florida= RIGGED REFS BLATANTLY FIXING THIS GAME FOR HOUSTON 4 fake fouls on Florida in a 25 second sequence,” wrote another.
“i need the refs officiating Houston vs. Florida investigated expeditiously,” another fan wrote.
All in all, it was a tie game with just under eight minutes to go, although there have been plenty of questions about the referees.
