BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
No. 1 Florida was one of the most dominant teams in all of college basketball this season, and leading into March Madness, today they were in danger of their season coming to a stunning end, until they weren’t.
The Gators trailed by 10 points with under eight minutes to play in their Elite 8 matchup against No. 3 Texas Tech. But a 9-0 run spearheaded a stunning turnaround, which led to a TBD victory for the reigning SEC champions.
FLORIDA 9-0 RUN TO TIE UP THE GAME!!!
pic.twitter.com/JwxXGcpS6v
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 30, 2025
Waltor Clayton Jr. led the way for Florida with 30 points, including some clutch baskets down the stretch of their comeback victory. Thomas Haugh contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s amazing this team’s special, man, this team is super special and this is a cold man right here,” Huagh said of his teammate Clayton Jr.
“I just got all these guys around me, we don’t spread apart during adversity, we come together, shoutout to the whole team we did it together,” Clayton Jr. added postgame.
Florida has lost just two games in the past two months of college basketball. They are the first SEC team to make it to the Final Four and could have as many as four teams after 14 SEC teams qualified for the Dance.
On their way to a Final-Four appearance, they defeated Norfolk St, UConn, Maryland and finally Texas Tech in the Elite 8.
Todd Golden is the first coach under 40 years of age to reach the Final Four since 2011 and led Florida to its first Final Four in over a decade.
“Done it all year, we’ve been incredibly resilient, they’ve stayed the course,” Golden said postgame. “Never too high-too low, we’re down nine going into our last media. We just had to dig in and get some stops, Tommy Huagh has made some big time shots, got some stops down the stretch, it’s what we’ve done all year.”
Whether or not Florida will win it all, as many expect them to, they are headed to the Alamodome in San Antonio for a chance at a national championship. They will play the winner of Auburn and Michigan State.
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