March Madness 2025: Walter Clayton Jr. stars as No. 1 Florida breaks No. 8 UConn's tourney win streak

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 23: Walter Clayton Jr. #1 of the Florida Gators celebrates after making a shot in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lenovo Center on March 23, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points in Florida's comeback win over UConn in the NCAA tournament on Sunday. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

One of the longest men’s NCAA tournament win streaks in modern college basketball is over at 13.

No. 1 Florida crept ahead of No. 8 UConn in the final minutes for a 77-75 win over the two-time defending national champions. The Gators didn’t lead at all in the second half until Walter Clayton Jr.’s 3-pointer with 2:54 to go gave Florida a 62-61 edge.

THE GATORS HAVE FLIPPED THIS GAME ON ITS HEAD 🤯

FIRST LEAD OF THE HALF FOR @GatorsMBK 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fQIvpzvKbh
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025

Clayton then almost sealed the game less than two minutes later when he nailed two free throws and made another 3-pointer with 1:03 to go to give the Gators a six-point lead.

WALTER CLAYTON. NAILS.

FLORIDA LEADS BY 6 😳#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2lUklfF6jV
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025

Clayton starred for the Gators on Sunday like he has all season. The former Iona player and second-year Gator had 15 points in the second half on the way to a 23-point performance. He was 5-of-8 from behind the arc.

His two free throws came as Florida struggled from the stripe in the second half. But the Gators got two massive offensive rebounds when they needed them most. Clayton's trip to the line was set up by an offensive board off a missed Alex Condon free-throw attempt. And when Condon missed another free throw with 44 seconds to go, Alijah Martin followed with a dunk to give the Gators an eight-point advantage.

Florida's issues at the line allowed UConn to hang around after that dunk, but Thomas Haugh officially put the game away with two makes with five seconds to go. The Gators were 15-of-27 at the free throw line in the second half and 22-of-34 for the game.

The game was tied 31-31 at halftime despite a terrible shooting performance from the Huskies in the first half. Their tenaciousness kept the game competitive as UConn was just 11-of-34 from the field.

Things improved in the second half, but not by much. And UConn couldn’t get shots to fall when they needed them as Florida hung around. UConn grabbed a 50-44 lead with 10:17 to go but never led by more than one possession for the final 6:45.

There will be no three-peat

UConn was attempting to do what no college basketball team has ever done since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams and since UCLA won seven straight titles from 1967 through 1973. A 14th straight win on Sunday would have broken a tie with Duke across 1991, 1992 and 1993 for the longest win streak since those UCLA teams won 38 straight games.

After dominating the NCAA tournament in 2023 and 2024, the 2024-25 season wasn’t flawless by any means for the Huskies and coach Dan Hurley as the team was tested by its losses to the NBA Draft over the past two seasons. UConn opened the season with three straight losses in the Maui Invitational and the Huskies finished third in the Big East.

Sunday’s game went sideways largely because the Huskies couldn’t count on making 3-pointers. A team that shot 35% from behind the arc during the season was 8-of-29 against the Gators and also was just 9-of-19 on layups.

With UConn eliminated from the tournament, there are just two teams still alive from the 2024 Final Four in Purdue and Alabama. The Boilermakers have already advanced to the Sweet 16 and the Crimson Tide play St. Mary's later on Sunday in the second round. NC State missed the tournament entirely in 2025 and fired coach Kevin Keatts as a result. As Florida was beating UConn, the school officially announced that it had hired McNeese's Will Wade as Keatts' replacement.

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