With Walter Clayton Jr., Florida Gators are a national championship team; all that’s left is to go win it

Basketball

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Image Credit: NCAA

Despite what the NCAA Division I Selection Committee that creates the 68-team March Madness field might lead one to believe, there are a finite set of college basketball programs truly capable of winning the national championship in any given year. Time and again, the 2024-25 season told anyone paying attention there were only four that fit the bill: Auburn, Duke, Houston and the Florida Gators.

All No. 1 seeds in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, those programs have risen to meet their pedigree. They now comprise the first Final Four of its kind since 2008 — when the final three games of the season were also held in San Antonio, Texas.

Florida has advanced to the sixth Final Four in program history, its first in 11 years. But with all deserved respect to the 2014 squad — a No. 1 overall seed that exceeded expectations throughout that entire season — these 2025 Gators are the program’s first legitimate national title contenders since the Oh Fours led UF to the first crowns in program history in 2006 and 2007.

This Florida team has proven, time and again, that it can win games no matter the obstacles. Bigs getting beat in the paint? The Gators’ triumvirate of star guards will rain 3-pointers. Not finding the bottom of the basket from deep? Florida will beast the boards and dominate scoring inside.

UF has blown out some of the best teams in the nation (home and on the road), won tight games against two-time defending national champions and even turned a 10-point deficit into a 5-point victory despite playing 35 minutes of some of its worst basketball of the entire season.

While the Gators may not have five double-digit scorers like the back-to-back national championship squads, what truly separates this unit from the 2014 unit is senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. The straw that has stirred the drink for Florida all season, Clayton is the only player in program history to be named an All-America first team selection, and he earned that honor in unanimous fashion. He also has more 30-point games in NCAA Tournament play (two), than every other player in UF history — combined.

Struggling with turnovers early this postseason, Clayton has an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-1 over the last two games. He’s drained 45% of his 3-point attempts and 89% of his free throws in NCAA Tournament play, including a 13 of 14 effort from the charity stripe in the Elite Eight when his shots were not falling for those first 35-plus minutes.

A player like Clayton is rare for a program that recruits like the Gators; he’s a level of go-to scorer that Florida has never truly before seen in its backcourt. The closest comparison is probably Bradley Beal, who spent one year with the team as a true freshman. Clayton not only has the patience and scoring acumen, he’s far more mature, clutch and certainly experienced as a shot-maker.

With the Gators in dire straights Saturday night, Clayton scored or assisted on each of the final 17 points Florida scored from the field. He personally accounted for 13 of the last 23 UF points in the game adding a layup and two free throws to his trio of triples.

Speaking of those treys, there’s an axiom in basketball that some players have an ability to “will” the ball into the hoop. It was not “will” that put each of Clayton’s 3-pointers into the cylinder but rather “force.” Just look at the shots themselves: not one was a clean swish. He gave those balls no choice but to find the bottom of the net.

Clayton is presently the second-most dominant scorer in a single season at Florida with 668 points, sitting 19 away from the all-time program record. He is 42 points away from the most across a two-season span in UF history.

None of this is to suggest Clayton is succeeding on his own. Guards senior Will Richard and redshirt senior Alijah Martin have played incredibly alongside him throughout the year, often alternating supporting performances depending how opponents attack the Gators defensively.

For much of the season, sophomore forward Alex Condon had been a crucial presence in the paint, but his level of play since returning from an ankle injury has left a lot to be desired of late. He has shot just 43% from the floor and 52% from the charity stripe this postseason with 11 turnovers.

Stepping in for his teammate and positionmate is Thomas Haugh, who thrived when Condon was absent and has risen his game over the last seven contests. Haugh’s defense has been outstanding, and he upped his shooting draining 47% of his attempts from the field and 81% from the line while comparatively committing fewer turnovers (eight) in that same stretch.

Haugh’s play against that of Condon should at least lead head coach Todd Golden to consider a rare switch in his starting five this late in the campaign. That is unlikely to happen, of course, though Haugh played more minutes than Condon on Saturday despite being in significant foul trouble.

Speaking of Golden, a tumultuous year has turned into a crowning moment as, at age 39, he has become the youngest coach to reach the Final Four in 14 years. His risky yet perfectly called timeout — leaving Florida without any stoppage opportunities over the final 2:46 — completely turned the team’s fortunes. It was a move made by a coach who trusts his players and their maturity, similar to what Billy Donovan might have done in the past with such veterans on his roster.

If you want further (yet irrational) reasons as to why the Gators are legitimate national championship contenders, consider these:

• The seed total in the Elite Eight was 13, lowest in NCAA Tournament history (12 has never been achieved). The last time that happened was in 2007 when Florida played the only No. 3 seed (Oregon) and ultimately won the title. Texas Tech was the only No. 3 seed in the regional finals this weekend.
• The largest Sweet 16 comebacks in history have been achieved by Ohio State (20 points) in 2007, UCLA (17 points) in 2006 and Texas Tech (16 points) in 2025. UF ultimately eliminated all three teams from March Madness beating the first two in national championship games.

Back to what matters, Florida is on a 10-game winning streak leaving March with a clean sheet. It is 12-0 in neutral-site games this season and 10-2 against AP Top 25 opponents; UF’s only unatoned loss came during a game in which both teams put up two of the best offensive statistical efforts across the nation this season.

The Gators are undefeated when leading at halftime, leading with 5 minutes left or besting an opponent shooting from long range. They are averaging 29 free throw attempts in the NCAA Tournament, a number UF had only met or eclipsed in five regular-season games. Since the SEC Tournament, it is hitting 82% of its attempts from the charity stripe after shooting 70% from the line during the regular season.

Florida is not a team rounding into championship form. It’s a championship team proving game by game it is capable of outlasting arguably the most talented Final Four field in March Madness history.

UF, Auburn, Duke and Houston are a combined 135-16 on the season. They are all rated among the top 10 teams that have been fielded (based on adjusted efficiency margin) since KenPom.com started developing statistics in 1997. The Blue Devils rank second, the Cougars sixth, the Gators eighth and the Tigers 10th. Five of the other six teams either played in or won national championship games their respective seasons.

Whether the Gators come out on top of this Final Four will be decided across 120 minutes of basketball in San Antonio. What’s undoubted is that this Florida team is among the best in program history being led by a generational player who may have no peers by the time “One Shining Moment” is played.