Emanuel Sharp Stats Today: How did the Houston star perform in national championship game vs Florida (April 7) 

Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp had a forgetful ending during his team's loss earlier on Monday in college basketball's biggest stage. His contributions were not enough to help his program win their first-ever national title in history as they succumbed to merely a two-point defeat to the Florida Gators, 65-63, to lose in the NCAA national championship game.

In 29 minutes of playing time, Sharp dropped just eight points, three rebounds and an assist as he did all he could to try and win their maiden national championship title.

To open the much-awaited fixture, Sharp missed his first few shot attempts before finding the bottom of the net with a jumper at the 15:20 mark of the first half to put the game at an eight-all deadlock. The junior did all he could to find his groove, as his teammates snatched the lead early on. By the halfway mark, the Kelvin Sampson-coached team had a six-point edge, 16-10.

Sharp subbed back in the game at the 8:08 mark, through which he still couldn't find his footing with scoring the ball. This is why he elected to facilitate more, while helping out on the Cougars' hard-nosed defense. Filing in his role for the remainder of the first period of play, the 6-foot-3 standout eventually subbed out with a minute left as Houston had a three-point lead, 31-28, heading into the second half.

To open the second period, Sharp and Co. went off on an 11-2 run, with the third-year player contributing from the free-throw line, to lead with a score of 42-30. Sharp was then subbed out momentarily, before subbing back in with 11 minutes to go in the winner-take-all fixture as the Gators trimmed their edge in half, 48-42.

At this point, it was a back-and-forth affair as Sharp came alive with steady rebounding and even a long-range three-pointer and layup to help his team out. But, in the dying seconds of the second period, the Cougars found themselves down by two points, 65-63. They found Sharp open for a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but he fumbled the ball off a shot fake, resulting in the final buzzer.

Here are Emanuel Sharp's final stats for the national title game versus the Florida Gators:

Player	MP	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3-PT	FT	TO	PF
Emmanuel Sharp	29	8	3	1	0	0	3-11	1-7	1-2	2	0

Houston Cougars' first national title game since 1984 ends in heartbreak

The heartbreak continues for Emmanuel Sharp, Kelvin Sampson and the rest of the Houston Cougars, as despite reaching the 2025 national championship game, a first for the program since four decades in 1984, they are still searching for their first-ever national title after their loss against the Florida Gators.

Houston has reached at least the Sweet 16 of March Madness in each of the last five years, but they are yet to win it all. After finishing with an overall record of 35-5 (19-1 during Big 12 conference play), the Cougars will look to retool and go again in the 2025-2026 campaign.