"Not a good look" "You deserve a ring": Fans debate as Florida student reporter Talia Baia's championship celebration goes viral

College basketball fans had mixed reactions to a video posted by Florida student reporter Talia Baia on social media that showed the jubilant Gators moments after winning their third national title against Houston.

Baia, who's a student reporter for ESPN Gainesville, posted a 24-second clip of the scenes on X after Florida beat Houston in a cliffhanger, captioning it:

“No cheering in the press box” but level 1,000,000 difficulty because the team you’ve been covering all year just won the natty."

The viral moment drew mixed reactions from fans, with one college basketball follower showing his displeasure with the student reporter's actions following the victory by her alma mater:

"This is not a good look, u have MEDIA credentials to cover a game, not cheer for your team."

Another fan sarcastically rebuked Baia, saying that she deserves the ring for cheering with Florida despite being at the press box:

"You deserve a ring. Thank you for covering the sport"

Other college basketball fanatics felt Baia's celebration was a little bit overboard.

"Imagine making the team’s win about yourself," one fan said.

"Either you're a serious journalist or you're a fan - cannot be both. Clearly you're a fan," another user remarked.

"Typical modern day reporter. “How do I make the story about me,”" a Cincinnati fan added.

"Literally the cardinal sin of sports journalism," a fan wrote.

Not everyone, though, were irritated with Baia's actions; instead, they congratulated her for covering it for the school.

"hh tournament is technically over. Enjoy it whatever way you want. Cheers @talia_baia," one college hoops enthusiast said.

"I think it's allowable in your specific situation. Enjoy.," another fan opined.

"You should be able to cheer for the school you graduated from and work for," an aspiring sports broadcasting aspirant chimed in.

"You can show emotion yet be professional. Never forget that. It's called being human. Keep up the good work," another user added.

---

Florida tops the last edition of the Coaches Poll for the 2024-25 season

National champions Florida topped the last edition of the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll for the 2024-25 season. Released on Tuesday, the Todd Golden-coached Gators garnered all the 31 first-place votes for a perfect 775 points.

This season's runners-up Houston came in second with 744 points, and third was Cooper Flagg and Duke with 706. Auburn came in fourth with 689 points, while Tennessee (621), Alabama (610), Michigan State (593), Texas Tech (582), Maryland (469), St. John's (436), Michigan (427), Purdue (384), Arizona (353), Kentucky (330), BYU (316), Wisconsin (315), Iowa State (280), Ole Miss (214), Texas A&M (195), Gonzaga (155), Louisville (146), Saint Mary's (97), Clemson (95), Creighton (90) and Arkansas (84) clinched the next 21 places in the Top 25.

Other teams that secured votes from the 31-coaches panel were Memphis (63), Drake (52), Illinois (49), UConn (41), Oregon (40), Missouri (33), UCLA (33), Marquette (18), New Mexico (11), Colorado State (9), UC San Diego (7), Kansas (6), Baylor (6) and McNeese (1).

AP also released its Final poll after the title game, and the top nine teams had similar rankings with the Coaches Poll. AP had Michigan in 10th followed by St. John's (11th), Kentucky (12th), BYU (13th), Purdue (14th), Arizona (15th), Wisconsin (16th), Iowa State (17th), Mississippi (18th), Texas A&M (19th), Arkansas (20th), Louisville (21st), Clemson (22nd), Gonzaga (23rd), Saint Mary's (24th) and Memphis (25th).