Walter Clayton Jr. had to completely take over, but Florida is headed to its first national championship game in nearly two decades.
The Gators snuck past top-seeded Auburn in a thrilling battle to kick off the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday night. Florida, thanks to 34 points and five 3-pointers from Clayton, pulled off the narrow 79-73 win over the Tigers. They shut down Johni Broome almost completely after he dominated in the early minutes, too.
Florida, which made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2014, hasn’t been to a national championship game since 2007, when the Gators won their second straight title. They’ll now take on either Duke or Houston, who will wrap up the semifinal round with their matchup next on Saturday night.
Broome left the Tigers’ win over Michigan State in the Elite Eight briefly with an elbow injury, though he returned to that contest and insisted that he’d be back to full strength in time for Saturday’s game. While he was seen grabbing at his arm repeatedly in the first half, it didn’t appear to slow him down any at all.
Broome had 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the first 20 minutes while shooting 5-of-10 from the field. He was just about unstoppable inside, too, as Auburn dropped 26 of its first 46 points from inside the paint.
Johni Broome getting the crowd going after another bucket down low. pic.twitter.com/ooNlpg5lf7
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 5, 2025
Auburn’s halftime lead didn’t hold for long. The Gators opened the second half on an 13-3 tear, which included an 11-0 burst over a span of a little more than three minutes, to take the lead back almost instantly. Alijah Martin and Clayton, who combined for 24 points in the first half, hit back-to-back 3-pointers during that stretch.
While the run didn't continue, Martin kept the Gators a slight step ahead over the next few minutes and even threw down a pair of ridiculous dunks — one where he took off from just inside the free throw line and another in transition over a pair of Auburn players. The second dunk put Auburn up by three points with about five minutes left.
