The Houston defense is relentless. The referees have put their whistles in their pockets, and so we have a rock fight!!!! The game has been physical and the teams are both playing some incredible defense.

Only 4 fouls have been called in a game that has had plenty of contact. I wouldn’t necessarily say all the contact should result to a foul – but you definitely can say that the referees are letting them play.

Houston jumped out to the early lead with about 10 minutes to play as Mylik Wilson stole the ball from Denzel Aberdeen and made the layup to give the Cougars a 16-10 lead.

But then Will Richard got hot. With 6 minutes left, he drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 21.

Houston immediately had an answer. LJ Cryer hit a three-pointer. Ja’Vier Francis blocked a layup from Micah Handlogten. Mylik Wilson had a nice dunk off a pass from Emanuel Sharp. And then after Clayton missed a three-pointer for the Gators, Wilson hit a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 8 with 5 minutes in the half.

But Florida would keep fighting. And they got lucky that the referees had their whistles in their pockets. J’Wan Richards put up a shot in the lane and the ball hung on the rim until getting knocked to the corner by a Florida defender. After replays, it certainly looked like it should have been goaltending.

Instead, the Gators pushed the ball up the court, got the ball into Will Richard, and he drilled the three-pointer to cut the lead to 3. And that would eventually be the score that would end the half – the Cougars are up 31-28 at half-time.

Houston has 13 points off their bench as Wilson leads the Cougars with 7 points and Ja’Vier Francis has 6 points. But it is Houston’s defense that is the biggest story.

Walter Clayton Jr averages 18.5 points per game. The Cougars have him shut out – as he has gone 0-4 from the field and every one of those 4 shots has been heavily contested. Alijah Martin averages 14.6 points per game and the Cougars have held him 1-5 from the field for 2 points.

The Gators average 10.6 turnovers a game. Houston forced 9 from them in the first half. If it wasn’t for Will Richard getting hot and scoring half of the Gators points (14), this game would not be close.

The game is Houston’s pace. The game is Houston’s style. Everything favors the Cougars – but as is common in a defensive battle, it is a one-possession game.

The Cougars lead 31-28, with 20 minutes to hang on to win a national championship – should be an exciting finish to the season.