SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Walter Clayton Jr. poured in a game-high 34 points and No. 1 Florida gutted out a 79-73 win against No. 1 Auburn in an all-SEC matchup at the Final Four.
Clayton went 11 of 18 from the field, 5 of 8 from 3-point range and made all seven of his free throws to continue his torrid run through the NCAA tournament. He’s the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score at least 30 points in the Elite Eight and national semifinals.
‘I just got a bunch of guys around me that trust me,’ Clayton said. ‘Those guys trust me to take those shots and some nights they fall. Tonight was one of them.’
Florida guard Alijah Martin had 17 points and forward Thomas Haugh had 12 points, 7 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
All-America forward Johni Broome had 15 points for Auburn but just 3 in the second half, when he made 1 of 4 shots from the field and 1 of 5 from the line. The Tigers were led by Chad Baker-Mazara’s 18 points.
Florida shot 47% from the field and made 8 of 21 attempts from deep. Auburn shot 44% overall but was unable to intimidate the Gators’ interior defense after a strong start, finishing with 34 points in the paint to the Gators’ 30.
This is Florida’s fourth appearance in the championship game and first since winning the second of back-to-back titles in 2007. The Gators will meet the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between No. 1 Duke and No. 1 Houston.
The win moves the Gators to 35-5. The 35 victories tie the 2007 team for the second-most in a single season in program history. Florida went a combined 40-29 in coach Todd Golden’s first two seasons after being hired away from San Francisco, where he led the 2022 Dons to an at-large tournament bid.
The two teams played once during the regular season, with Florida winning 90-81 at Auburn in early February. The Tigers finished first in the SEC during the regular season by one game ahead of the Gators, who won the conference tournament. This was the 10th time in Final Four history that two teams from the same league have met in the national semifinals.
A fast-paced start that saw eight lead changes and only four turnovers through the game’s first 13 minutes showed the contrast in styles between the two SEC rivals: Auburn led 29-25 by hammering away at Florida’s interior defense while the Gators did most on their work on the offense end from the perimeter.
The pace slowed considerably through the end of the first half as Florida struggled against Auburn’s physical frontline. The two teams would combine for 12 points in the next five minutes of play, with Auburn grabbing a 38-29 lead with 2:52 to play on a short jumper by Broome.
The Tigers would lead 46-38 at halftime after guard Denver Jones made one of two free throws with 1.6 seconds left. Auburn shot 72.2% from inside the arc in the first half and scored 26 points in the paint. Florida hit 12 of 27 attempts overall at the break and went 4 of 10 from the 3-point line.
But the Gators responded with a 11-0 run early in the second half to take a 51-49 lead with 15:30 remaining. The lead was the Gators’ first since going ahead 23-22 midway through the first half.
‘We got off to a great start in the second half and we didn’t look back,’ Golden said. ‘Our guys were really tough tonight.’
Auburn answered with an 8-0 run to lead 57-51 before Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. made an off-balance 3 and then a pair of free throws to make it 57-56 at the 11:12 mark. Three possessions later, guard Alijah Martin scored in transition to put the Gators ahead 59-57 with 9:45 to play.
The back-and-forth second half continued with the Tigers and Gators trading baskets while laboring to get into an offensive rhythm. Auburn went up 63-62 on an alley-oop slam by center Dylan Caldwell; Florida retook the lead, 64-63, on Thomas Haugh’s driving layup with 6:31 left. Martin’s emphatic slam off an Auburn turnover made it 66-63 just over a minute later, and another Clayton 3 from the left wing put the Gators up 69-65 at the 4:29 mark.
That set the stage for a frenetic and sloppy final 2:30, when Clayton scored on layup to give Florida a 71-68 lead. While Auburn would have multiple chances to tie the game down the stretch, Florida would not be denied.
‘He’s done what he’s done all year for us,’ Golden said. ‘In big moments, (he’s) stepped up and hit huge shots and settled our team down and made winning plays when we’ve need them the most.’
Again, it was Clayton who carried the Gators. In the game’s deciding moment, he scored on a driving and-one to make it 74-68 with 1:33 to play. After Baker-Mazara missed a 3 the next time down the court and then traveled on the ensuing possession, Haugh made a short jumper in the paint and was fouled to make it 76-68 with 32 seconds left. Clayton then made a pair of free throws with 9.6 seconds to play to lock down the Gators’ appearance in Monday night’s title game.