Auburn Vs. Florida was a final four matchup on April 5, but One seed on their sides of the brackets. The final score of this game was Florida 79, Auburn 73. This Florida win came with the help of starting point guard Walter Clayton Jr., who had scored 34 points and went 11-18 from the field. Also with the help of guard Alijah Martin, who had 17 points and went 6-10 from the field. A factor that brought Florida the win was the rebounds Florida was able to gain; Florida out rebounded Auburn by 9 and had a better field goal percentages of 47.2%.
Houston Vs. Duke was the other final four match on April 5; both teams were also number one seeds on their sides of the bracket. The final score of this game was Houston 70, Duke 67. This Houston win came from the help of Guard L.J. Cryer, who scored 26, and his success came from the 3 point line going 6-9. Also Houston was given help from Forward J’wan Roberts, who was able to grab 12 rebounds. This win also came from the number of rebounds Houston were able to grab out rebounding Duke 42 to 31. The biggest factor to this win, in the second half for the last 10 minutes Houston held Duke to only 3 points.
Florida
Florida is coming into the National Championship after going two tough wins over Number 3 Texas Tech, and Number 1 Auburn. The team was entering the championship hot with leader Walter Clayton jr. averaging around 22.5 points per game and about 3.3 assists per game. Another strong contributor to their tournament success is Forward Alex Condon averaging around 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds. The ability to get rebounds helps contribute to their wins as well. Florida was being led by Coach Todd Golden; he has been with Florida since 2022, and previously had a job with the San Francisco Dons. He holds a head coach record of 133-69. The Florida Gators came into March Madness with a record of 36-4, and many people watching and making brackets had them or Duke winning the National Championship. The Florida Gators came into March after winning the SEC tournament, where Florida won 86-77 against Tennessee. The conclusion of their season ended on a high note, with them winning the National Championship with a close final score 65 to 63. And giving coach Todd Golden his first National championship, and Florida’s third National Championship since going back to back in 2006 and 2007.
Houston
Houston went into the National Championship after two super close games with a 70 to 67 win over number 1 Duke, and 62-60 win over number 4 Purdue. Making people question if Houston is going to stand any chance. A major contributor for the cougars is guard L.J. Cryer averaged 18.6 points per game. Also Forward J’wan Roberts a huge contributor for the cougars, who has two games with 10+ rebounds. Houston is led by head coach Kelvin Sampson, who has been with the Cougars since 2014. Previously, he was an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets. He has a head coach record of 798-355; The Cougars came into March with a record of 34-5 and some thought this would be the year that Houston would win their first Men’s Basketball National Championship. Houston came into March after winning the Big 12 championship, after beating Arizona 72 to 64. Houston’s season concluded in heartbreak losing in the National Championship 65 to 63 to the Florida Gators, giving them their first National Championship appearance since 1984.
National Championship
The National Championship was played on April 7 in San Antonio, Texas, the matchup was between Number 1 Florida and Number 1 Houston. The final score ended up being Florida 65, Houston 63. The main contributor to Florida success was guard Will Richard with 18 points, shooting 50% from the field; Richard also had 8 rebounds. Star guard Walter Clayon jr. was held to zero points in the first half going 0-4. But later picked it up in the second scoring 11 points going 3-6 and going 4-4 in free throws. This win gave Florida their third National Championship and Head coach Todd Golden first National Championship at Florida.
Work Cited
https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket