The first ticket to the national title game has been punched as No. 1 seed Florida defeated No. 1 overall seed Auburn 79-73 in the final Four to advance to Monday’s NCAA championship game. The Gators will face No. 1 seed Duke or No. 1 seed Houston for the NCAA title.
Florida will be making its first title game appearance since 2007. The last non-Kentucky team from the SEC to win the title was that Florida team, which won the second of the Gators back-to-back titles.
Florida All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. had a performance to remember in the win over Auburn. Clayton scored a game and career high 34 points, and his steady shot-making helped the Gators erase a nine-point deficit in the early minutes of the second half. Clayton is the first player to score at least 30 points in the Elite Eight and national semifinals during the same NCAA Tournament since Indiana State’s Larry Bird in 1979.
Clayton’s backcourt mate, Alijah Martin, also played a crucial role in Florida’s monumental win. Martin became the first player in college basketball history to start a Final Four game with two different programs and finished with 17 points.
The loss marks the end of the road for Auburn. Auburn big man Johni Broome scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half and was held in check after halftime. Auburn was making its second Final Four appearance in program history and will fall one game short of playing for the national title.
Quick hitters
- Florida is advancing to the national title game for the fourth time in school history. The Gators lost to Michigan State in 2000 and won back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles by defeating UCLA in 2006 and Ohio State in 2007.
- The victory was Florida’s 35th this season, just one shy of a program-record 36 set in 2013-14.
- The Gators won their 11th straight game and have won 17 of their last 18.
- Clayton’s 34 points are the most by a player in a national semifinal since Duke’s Danny Ferry scored 34 in 1989 vs. Seton Hall.
Read the full article here