The NCAA Tournament Final Four includes some of the top talent that men's college basketball has to offer, jam-packed with All-Americans and other significant contributors. Without these players, this year's edition of March Madness would not involve all of the top-seeded teams.
But here we are now, with the Florida Gators facing the Auburn Tigers in one bracket and the Duke Blue Devils taking on the Houston Cougars in the other inside the Alamodome on Saturday.
With so much top-level talent involved in the Big Dance, CBS Sports writer Kyle Boone found it prudent to grade all 20 starters for the quartet of semifinalists from top to bottom. While Todd Golden's roster has a pair of top-10-ranked players listed, it has been generally understood that this UF team has been a sum greater than its individual parts due to unselfish play, making it unsurprising to see a few players listed a bit low.
No. 3: Walter Clayton Jr. (Guard)
"Clayton is averaging 22.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and has been a superhero when Florida needs him most," Boone begins. "He scored 22 of his 30 points to spark a furious rally against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and had 15 of his 23 after halftime to lead a comeback over UConn in the second round."
No. 7: Alijah Martin (Guard)
"Florida's second-leading scorer, Martin brings athletic pop and shot-making to a team that has more of it than any left standing. Florida backcourt is just as loaded as its frontcourt, but Martin is the clear No. 2 behind Walter Clayton Jr," he notes.
No. 13: Alex Condon (Forward)
"The head of Florida's deep frontcourt, Condon is a 6-foot-11 inside-out big who can space the floor and block shots on the other end," Boone continues. "He's below his season averages during the NCAA Tournament (7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks per game) but still a dynamic piece of a Gators team that can bury you with depth."
No. 16: Will Richard (Guard)
"Richard is Florida's third-leading scorer and the team-leader in effective field goal percentage where. He's shooting 35.7% from 3, 68.2% on 2s and 83.7% from the line," he points out. "The Gators' Swiss Army Knife is of only two players to start in all 38 games this season for Florida."
No. 20: Reuben Chinyelu (Center)
"Chinyelu brings persistence on the glass to the best rebounding team in the field. It's among the main reasons he's earned starts in all 38 of Florida's games this season. He leads the team in offensive rebounding rate among qualifying players and has a nose for the ball," Boone concludes.
Full Final Four starters rankings
- Cooper Flagg (Duke)
- Johni Broome (Auburn)
- Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida)
- L.J. Cryer (Houston)
- Kon Knueppel (Duke)
- Chad Baker-Mazara (Auburn)
- Alijah Martin (Florida)
- Tyrese Proctor (Duke)
- Milos Uzan (Houston)
- Khaman Maluach (Duke)
- Dylan Cardwell (Auburn)
- Sion James ...
