Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. and Auburn big man Johni Broome have been two of the best players in the country this season. So far tonight, they’ve been steady but not yet spectacular.
Both Clayton Jr. and Broome have 6 points, and neither are the leading scorer on their team with about 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Clayton has hit two 3s, while Broome has also added two rebounds and a block.
Chad Baker-Mazara of Auburn has a game-high eight points so far, with teammate Johni Broome, the SEC player of the year, also impactful from the outset with six points, a block and two rebounds. Since making their first three three-pointers, the Gators are 0-3 from deep.
With six lead changes less than six minutes into the game, Florida-Auburn has seen a fun start with both teams landing punches and Auburn leading, 16-14, at a timeout with 14:31 to go before halftime.
The teams have already combined to shoot 5-for-10 on 3-pointers, and that’s pretty remarkable given the unique factor of playing inside such a large, domed stadium. As someone who got on the Final Four court in 2017 and got some shots up during media day, I can attest to how strange it is to initially shoot with such a deep background behind the basket.
At the under-15 timeout, both Auburn and Florida are looking comfortable offensively.
The Gators are shooting 55.6% from the field compared to 54.5% for the Tigers. The teams have also combined to hit 5-of-10 shots from 3-point range. And on top of the hot shooting, there’s also been only one turnover between the two clubs.
The result has been some pretty satisfying back-and-forth action.
The first tournament meeting between these SEC rivals has begun. Both are veteran, both supported by stars. Who wins?
The national anthem was just sung and starting lineups are minutes away.
Duke’s Khaman Maluach and Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu met at NBA Academy Africa, a hub for talented athletes throughout the continent. They used to dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Not only are the Gators playing in the Final Four, but legendary coach Billy Donovan was announced as a member of the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame class.
L.J. Cryer has already won a national championship with Baylor and his nearly 42 percent shooting on 3-pointers has injected badly needed offense into a Cougars team that has struggled to score in big moments under coach Kelvin Sampson. Cryer isn’t the biggest name left in the tournament, but he knows like few others left what it takes to win.
With just one loss since Feb. 1, the Gators might be the most talented team left. They also might be the one most likely to drive up its fans’ blood pressure, having flirted with disaster already twice in the tournament while trailing Connecticut late in the Sweet 16 and Texas Tech by double digits in the final minutes of the Elite Eight. That they emerged victorious is a credit to their resiliency and the playmaking under pressure of stars like star guard Clayton Jr., but it’s a worry they were in that position to begin with.
Clayton Jr. has been on an absolute heater so far this postseason. He scored 23 points in each of the Gators’ first two tournament games before dropping 30 in the Elite Eight. Clayton Jr.’s performance in Florida’s comeback win over Texas Tech was breathtaking, especially his late barrage of 3-pointers to seal it for the Gators.
When it comes to this time of year, I want to watch a player who can catch fire and shoot the lights out of the ball. Clayton Jr. fits the bill, and Auburn will have its hands full trying to slow him down.
For the past decade there hasn’t exactly been a dearth of lower-seed Cinderellas to make the Final Four, and college basketball’s best attribute is its parity. Now, I’ll step down from my soapbox to say this: That hasn’t always led to compelling games once in the Final Four, however. And this season, with Florida, Duke, Auburn and Houston all looking a cut above during various stretches, the best basketball outcome fans could have received was watching these strength-on-strength semifinals.
Who doesn’t want to watch Duke’s historically efficient offense try to solve Houston’s top-ranked defense, or Auburn’s veteran-laden roster (led by player of the year candidate Johni Broome) attempt to derail Florida’s special season?
