Walter Clayton Jr. had to completely take over, but Florida is headed to its first national championship game in nearly two decades.
The Gators snuck past top-seeded Auburn in a thrilling battle to kick off the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday night. Florida, thanks to 34 points and five 3-pointers from Clayton, pulled off the narrow 79-73 win over the Tigers. They shut down Johni Broome almost completely after he dominated in the early minutes, too.
Florida, which made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2014 this spring, hasn’t been to a national championship game since 2007 when they won their second straight title.