NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four round opens with an SEC showcase.
The first half of the NCAA Men’s Final Four just means more.
The SEC’s tournament takeover is on its purest display in the opening leg of the San Antonio doubleheader, which will feature the Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators vying for a trip to the national championship game. It’s the first postseason meeting between the two longtime rivals and the winner faces either Duke or Houston in Monday’s grand finale.
Florida, which has two national titles to its name (2006-07), is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2014. This latest trek has featured some close calls: the Gators barely got by two-time defending champion Connecticut in round two before they made up a late 10-point deficit to top Texas Tech in the regional final last weekend.
The common factor has been the clutch antics of Walter Clayton Jr., a consensus All-American (and the first in school history) who saved one of his best for last in the form of a 30-point effort against the Red Raiders. With Clayton letting it fly, the Gators also boast the interior talents of Alex Condon, Ruben Chinyelu, and Thomas Haugh, all of whom are averaging over six rebounds a game.
Auburn, on the other hand, is making just its second Final Four appearance, and its first since the 2019 team led by Bryce Brown and Chuma Okeke fell to the eventual champions from Virginia. The Tigers have spent most of this season atop the national rankings and have spent most of this tournament defending that reputation: they won their first three games by an average of 15 points and the Elite Eight clash vs. Michigan State was not as close as the 70-64 decision indicates.
Plenty of War Eagle cries have come through the antics of SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome, who has pulled in 53 rebounds over the tournament quartet in addition to keeping up his elite scoring. Broome dealt with an injury in final stages of the Elite Eight but the Tigers are well-stocked and then some: Chad Baker-Mazara reached the All-SEC third team alongside Condon while Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford appeared on the All-Defensive and Freshman squads, respectively.
This will be the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season, as Florida previously prevailed, 90-81, at Auburn back in February. Clayton flirted with a triple-double by combining 19 points with nine assists and six rebounds, while Condon paired 17 tallies with 10 boards. Auburn leads the all-time series 90-84.
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Who: (1) Auburn Tigers vs. (1) Florida GatorsWhat: 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, National SemifinalWhere: The Alamodome, San Antonio, TXWhen/Watch: Saturday, 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+Who’s Favored: UF -2.5
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Tiger to Watch: Chaney Johnson
The Tiger lineup features name-brand talents throughout, but it’s depth stars like Johnson that make March (and April) march: the Division II transfer from Alabama-Huntsville rose to the occasion when Broome went down against Michigan State and helped maintain the Tigers’ lasting lead during the middle stages of the second half. It’s one thing to do it early in the year against foes like Georgia State (as Johnson previously did during a different Broome medical incident), but the Final Four/national championship round have frequently seen the emergence of second unit men (i.e. Phil Booth for Villanova in 2016) pave the path to a shining moment or two. Is Johnson the next man up in more ways than one?
Gator to Watch: Walter Clayton Jr.
If anyone has put the “V” in MVP in this tournament, it has undoubtedly been Clayton, the Iona transfer that has helped Florida avoid being the antagonist in a Cinderella story. Clayton’s clutch shooting from all ends of the floor has bailed the Gators out of hairy situations and kept Florida’s offense rolling after placing second in the SEC in scoring this season. Facing the impenetrable forces of Baker-Mazzara, Pettiford, and Miles Kelly, Clayton will need another brilliant showing to overcome the Tigers’ seemingly endless reinforcements. ______________________________________________________________________________
They Said It
“There are four teams in the country that are left, and Auburn is one of them. So we couldn’t be happier … We’re going to the Final Four with our four 1 seeds. The four teams that advanced, I think they’re the four best teams in the country. That doesn’t obviously always happen … We are a football school. We are. Don’t ever forget that. We’re a football school. We are. But we’re also an everything school. We’re an everything school.”-Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl after the win over Michigan State (h/t Taylor Jones, Auburn Wire)
“It’s kind of a lot to put on a young man. But I’d say the one thing where Walt 100 percent is similar to Steph is their shot-making and their ability to get it off whenever they want. Just like the Warriors want Steph to be able to find a way to get open and get those shots in those moments, we want Walt taking the shots for us down the stretch. There’s a reason why he was an AP first-team All-American. He is, in my humble opinion, the best guard in America.”-Florida head coach Todd Golden on Walter Clayton Jr. getting comparisons to Stephen Curry (h/t Kyle Bonagura, ESPN)
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Prediction
Florida is perhaps the furthest thing from a Cinderella story, but some will no doubt question its championship credentials against the most frequent No. 1 team in the major polls and one that rolled through their opening games. The dynamic, multi-faceted one-two punch of Clayton and Condon, however, can move mountains and the Gators have proven themselves well-capable of rising against any challenge. It might take an old-fashioned slugfest better suited for the fields of fall Saturdays rather than the hardwood of early April, but my nod goes to the Gators.
Florida 70, Auburn 66
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
