Image Credit: NCAA
History was made Saturday night in San Antonio as the Florida Gators ended a nearly two-decade drought securing an opportunity to play for a national championship for the first time since 2007. Behind a career scoring night from their star, senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr., the No. 1 seed Gators stormed back in the second half to complete a 79-73 win over the No. 1 seed Auburn Tigers.
Clayton, who made all sorts of history in the Alamodome, scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the second half, hitting 3 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc and all five of his free throws in the period. He led a 14-point turnaround as Florida simultaneously regained control of the paint and stifled Auburn’s best players despite finding few answers across the opening 20 minutes.
In just his third year at the helm, head coach Todd Golden has become the second man to lead the Gators to a national championship game joining Billy Donovan, who lost in 2000 before winning the program’s only two national championships (2006-07).
Florida improved to 15-1 as a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament play moving into the national title game for the fourth time in six Final Four appearances. The Gators now have a chance to atone for their Final Four loss in 2014 and bring a trophy back to Gainesville, Florida.
Let’s take a look at what went down on Saturday night.
It was over when … Clayton made two free throws to push Florida ahead by two full scores (6 points) with 9 seconds to play.
The Gators erased their halftime deficit with an 11-0 run, including an and-one from senior guard Will Richard and consecutive 3-pointers from Clayton and Alijah Martin, to take the lead inside 16 minutes. Committing six turnovers in the first 7:30 of the period, Florida saw its lead evaporate; however, Martin backed up a steal with a fastbreak jam to put UF back on top with 10 minutes to play.
The teams jockeyed for position over the next few minutes as UF dealt with a string of officiating so atrocious and one-sided that one could only shake their head.
Four straight points from sophomore forward Thomas Haugh placed the Gators ahead for good with 6:31 left. Martin added an even better slam dunk — arguably the highlight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament — before Clayton turned on his jets. A 3-pointer and poetic take to the hoop for an and-one led to eight straight points for Clayton with Haugh adding a tough layup under the hoop for a 10-3 run.
That put Florida ahead by eight points with 37 seconds to play. Auburn made a huge triple in response, and Haugh failed to put the game away going 1 of 4 from the line in the closing stretch. However, the Tigers were unable to land prayer baskets, and the Gators held on for the victory.
First half focus: Florida hit its first three attempts from downtown, but its struggles from beyond the arc (six straight misses) led to limited scoring opportunities over the duration of the period as Auburn dominated the paint. The Gators led 23-22 with 10:21 until halftime before the Tigers outscored them 24-15 heading into the break. Clayton and Martin combined to score 24 of UF’s points in the period (63%) as AU boasted scoring edges of 26-14 in the paint and 8-4 on second chances. Florida decided to play Auburn star Johni Broome one-on-one, which allowed him to go off with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Tigers beat up on the Gators with screening actions as UF was unable to match up around the rim.
Especially exceptional effort: Calling Clayton the “straw that stirred the drink” for Florida on Saturday night would be selling him short. While it was truly a one-two punch between Clayton and Martin that knocked Auburn on its ass, the Gators’ floor general was the man of the match posting a career-high 34 points while draining 5 of 8 attempts from downtown and all seven of his free throws (atoning for four turnovers).
In doing so, Clayton became the greatest scorer in Florida basketball history setting a program single-season scoring record with 702 points. His 123 points over the last five games are the most by any Gators player in an NCAA Tournament, and his 34 points Saturday night were the most by any Florida player in the Final Four.
Combining Clayton’s 34 points Saturday with his 30-point performance against Texas Tech last week, he became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score 30+ points in consecutive March Madness games in the Elite Eight round or later. The only three other players to accomplish the feat in history are all legends from the 1950s: Jerry West, Wilt Chaberlain, Clyde Lovellette).
Exceptional efforts: If Clayton had not put together an all-time performance, Martin’s heroics would be even more talked about. He scored 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting, hitting 2 of 3 triples and all three of his free throws. Martin’s two runaway jams also provided Florida with a tremendous amount of momentum it badly needed in the second half given its opening deficit.
Haugh again delivered in the clutch, coming alive in the second half to score seven of his 12 points while posting 7 boards in the contest. He has been arguably the most crucial piece the Gators have found over the last three games as other players have fallen off.
Missing in action: Sophomore F Alex Condon continues to be negative while on the court. Despite playing tougher defense in the second half, Condon went 0 of 5 from the field and 1 of 3 from the line with five fouls and three turnovers. Senior guard Will Richard swarmed the ball in the second half playing some of his best defense of the entire NCAA Tournament. Offensively, though, he went 1 of 6 from the field with 3 turnovers. His 5 of 6 makes from the charity stripe were certainly important, and Richard has been known to turn it on immediately after poor shooting efforts.
Odds & ends: Florida improved to 85-92 all-time against Auburn, 3-2 under Golden with a 2-0 record this season … Saturday marked the second time UF had ever played an SEC team in an NCAA Tournament game … the Gators improved to 50-20 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, 4-2 in the Final Four … Florida played in the Final Four for the sixth time in program history first time since 2014; it will play in a national championship game or the fourth time ever and first time since 2007 … the Gators are a No. 1 seed for the third time in program history holding a 15-1 record in March Madness play; this will be the second time they play for a national title as a No. 1 seed … UF improved to 11-2 this season against AP Top 25 opponents, 17-12 since Golden took over the program … the Gators are now 13-0 in neutral-site games this season … Clayton has made a 3-pointer in 61 consecutive games, a team record …
Florida under Golden won for just the sixth time this season when trailing at halftime (6-4) but improved to 69-5 when leading with 5 minutes left (32-0), 56-10 when outrebounding an opponent (29-3), 52-8 when shooting 45% or better from the field (25-2), 67-7 when outshooting an opponent (31-1), 62-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range (32-0) and 46-15 when winning the bench scoring battle (22-1)
What it means: It sounds like a broken record at this juncture, but the Gators again found a way to win a game with their backs against the wall. Florida was outscored 26-14 in the paint and 8-4 on second chances in the first half only to flip the script with a 16-8 paint scoring edge in the latter period. The Gators outrebounded the Tigers 23-13 (7-3 offensively) in the second half, found points on the fastbreak and completely stymied Broome, who had as many turnovers as points (three) while going 1 of 4 from the field and 1 of 5 from the line across the closing 20 minutes.
What’s particularly impressive about Florida’s performance is that it won despite only having three players finish in double figures. Clayton, Martin and Haugh combined for 63 points (80% of the team total) while going 21 of 35 from the field (.600) and 8 of 15 from long range (.533). The other five players who saw action scored just 16 points on 8 of 18 shooting (.444) from the floor and 0 of 6 from downtown (.000).
The Gators have simply figured it out all season long. All four of Florida’s losses came when it trailed at halftime; so it outscored Auburn by 14 points in the second half holding AU to only 27 for the entire period. Richard, Condon and junior G Denzel Aberdeen struggled all game, so Clayton, Martin and Haugh simply took over. UF has proven it’s a national championship team; all that’s left to do is go win the whole damn thing.
What’s next? Florida (35-4) will play fellow No. 1 seed Houston (35-4) for the national championship on Monday night. The Cougars came from 14 points down in the second half to upset No. 1 seed Duke in the second Final Four game Saturday evening. Houston lost to Auburn (69-74) and Alabama (80-85 OT), split a series with Texas Tech, defeated Arizona State (80-65) and blew out Tennessee (69-50) in games against common opponents this season. Counter to the Cougars’ 3-3 record against those opponents, the Gators played in eight such games with a 7-1 mark.
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