GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) \u2014 As the Florida Gators are one win away from a national championship, fans lined up outside the Stephen C. O\u2019Connell Center in Gainesville to hold a watch party for their team.
\nFlorida will face Houston for the national title Monday night in San Antonio. If Florida wins, it will be their first championship since 2007.<\/p>\n
Fans said they are ready for an intense battle.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re seniors so this is pretty crazy for us. Last three weeks before graduation that we get to experience something this awesome, never thought we get to see this, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d said student Lilly Katz.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just so excited for all the energy everyone together and when we win, everyone storming court and getting super excited. It\u2019s going to be a lot of fun,\u201d said another student.<\/p>\n
Two fans who were students at the University of Florida drove all the way from North Carolina to be close to the action.
\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t be in San Antonio but is this like the next best thing?\u201d said 7News\u2019 reporter Brandon Beyer.
\n\u201cYeah, unfortunately it was like $2,600 to fly to san Antonio,\u201d said Jessica Frankel.
\n\u201cWe were definitely talking about it cause it\u2019s weird having adult money now but we\u2019re just like we\u2019ll come back to the homeland and just watch on campus,\u201d said Mike Marder.<\/p>\n
7News cameras captured students catching up on their schoolwork as they waited for the doors to open.
\n\u201cAre you skipping class to be here or is it excused?\u201d asked 7News\u2019 reporter Brandon Beyer.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve been excused, at least my classes. I think the professors understand how important today is,\u201d said a student.<\/p>\n
James De Rideer, who is majoring in sports management, said Gators\u2019 guard Walter Clayton Jr. is the one to watch during the game.
\n\u201cWhen you have Walter Clayton Jr and he can close like he does. As long as your within touching distance, this team can do anything,\u201d he said.
\nHe added that with two top players clashing for a title, anything can happen.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re very good. I\u2019m terrified. They\u2019re an amazing defensive team. Saw what they did to Duke in that final four game, but again with Walter Clayton Jr. anything is possible for this team right now,\u201d said De Rideer.<\/p>\n
The game is set for 8:30 p.m. Doors will open at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The watch party at the Stephen C. O\u2019Connell Center is expected to be an exciting event, with fans coming together to cheer on their team. With the possibility of a national championship win, the energy is sure to be electric.<\/p>\n
Q: What time does the game start? Introduction to the Championship Game GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) \u2014 As the Florida Gators are one win away from a national championship, fans lined up outside the Stephen C. O\u2019Connell Center in Gainesville to hold a watch party for their team. Florida will face Houston for the national title Monday night in San Antonio. If Florida […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wsvn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/040725-Go-Gators.-Fans-wait-outside-for-watch-party.jpg?quality=60&strip=color&w=640&resize=640,360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12467,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12465\/revisions\/12467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA: The game starts at 8:30 p.m.
\nQ: What time do the doors open?
\nA: The doors open at 7 p.m.
\nQ: Who is the player to watch during the game?
\nA: Gators\u2019 guard Walter Clayton Jr. is the player to watch during the game.
\nQ: Can I attend the watch party if I’m not a student?
\nA: Yes, the watch party is open to all fans.
\nQ: Is the event free?
\nA: The article does not mention any admission fee, but it’s best to check with the venue for confirmation.
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