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It’s been the Walter Clayton Jr. show through March for Todd Golden’s Florida Gators

Over the course of this week leading up to the Final Four, I’ll take you inside each of the Final Four teams’ paths to San Antonio and what it will take for each of them to cut down the nets on Monday night. For my articles on Duke and Houston, check http://hoopscoopmedia.com, but now onto the Florida Gators, who have had some of the closest calls among the Final Four squads.

Florida started off the tournament as hot as anyone, as the Gators were coming off an SEC Tournament championship and blitzed Norfolk State 95-69. The Gators led by as many as 32 points in the first half, getting out to a 51-19 lead in under 16 minutes. Todd Golden’s squad shot 29-of-60 from the field and an impressive 27-of-33 from the free throw line in the blowout win, headlined by Walter Clayton Jr.’s 23 points, which would be just the start for the senior guard and former Iona Gael.

Next up for the Gators were the back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies and their animated head coach Dan Hurley. The Huskies initiated a good old fashioned Big East battle, turning the round of 32 game in Raleigh into a grind fest. After the teams were deadlocked at 31-31 going into halftime, Hurley’s squad took control early in the second half and held a lead for over 16 minutes of second half action. The legend of Walter Clayton Jr. in the 2025 NCAA Tournament truly started late in this game. Clayton found himself matched up on two-time national champion forward Alex Karaban and promptly hit a side-step three-pointer to give Florida its first second half lead with under three minutes to go. Then, with just over a minute left and leading by three, Clayton hit the same exact shot, this time over Hassan Diarra, to sink the dagger into UConn. Clayton once again had 23 points to lead the way and send Florida on a trip to San Francisco for the West regional.

In the Sweet 16, Florida matched up with a Maryland team undergoing plenty of off-court drama as Kevin Willard flirted with the Villanova head coaching vacancy (which he eventually did take) in the days leading up to the game. Whether it would’ve mattered or not to the outcome of the game is something we may never know, but we do know the Gators came away with an 87-71 win in the game. Florida stretched it out early in the second half and stayed firmly in the lead as the game drew on, leaving no doubt in Gators fans’ minds. Maryland stud freshman Derik Queen showed out with 27 points in what may have been his final game as a Terp, but Florida’s extreme scoring balance proved too much. Led by Will Richard’s 15 points, six Gators reached double figures in the scoring column against Maryland.

Just like the enticing matchup in the round of 32, Florida played the closest game of the Elite Eight round when the Gators came back from down nine with under four minutes to go to top Texas Tech 84-79. After a 16-point comeback of its own to beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16, it was the Red Raiders who choked the game away due to missed free throws and unbelievable shot making once again from Walter Clayton Jr. Thomas Haugh, one of the unsung heroes for Florida this season started off the comeback with back-to-back three-pointers, and after the Red Raiders missed a second straight front end of a one-and-one, Clayton tied the game at 75-75 with a step-back three over Darrion Williams. On the next possession with just under a minute left, Clayton put the Gators in front 78-77 with another crunch time three. Clayton, Richard, and Alijah Martin each sunk free throws to ice the game late, as Clayton’s 30 points led the team with Haugh’s 20 points not far behind.

Just like every other team left, the Gators rank inside the top ten both offensively and defensively at KenPom.com, as Todd Golden’s team boasts the second-best offense and the tenth-ranked defense. The Gators are undefeated in games outside of the SEC this season, but it’ll be an all-SEC affair in the first game in San Antonio on Saturday night as Florida meets Auburn. Walter Clayton Jr.’s run through the tournament has all but confirmed his place as the third-best player in the country behind Johni Broome and Cooper Flagg, with a chance to take down the former’s team in the national semifinal. Through the SEC and NCAA Tournament, Clayton is averaging 21.7 ppg to lead the way for Florida as the Gators will take the floor for their first Final Four since 2014 under Billy Donovan.

Florida was my pick to advance to the national championship game from the left side of the bracket before the tournament tipped off, and for the sake of consistency, I’ll stick with that pick. Combining the factors of Walter Clayton Jr’s elite run of form, Johni Broome’s potential injury, and the fact this Florida team won at Auburn in early February by nine points, the Gators should be ever-slight favorites in the eyes of the public. Like many college basketball personalities have done over the course of this week, I’ll take the cop-out – and truly mean it when I write it – that no combination of outcomes in San Antonio would surprise me when it’s all said and done.

Other Things to Note:

• The Final Four tips off on Saturday, April 5 at 6:09 ET on CBS as Florida takes on Auburn followed by the matchup between Houston and Duke