Perhaps the most anticipated yearly sporting event in America, The NCAA Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness, is turning the last corner into the final three games of the season. The 2024-25 champion will be determined among four remaining teams.
The first squad to secure their spot was the Florida Gators due to an impressive comeback victory over the Texas Tech Raiders.
The Gators are led by transfer guard Walter Clayton Jr., who already has two legendary shots under his belt on the team’s current run, and a third-year, young and fiery coach in Todd Golden. It’s a new game given the NIL (name, image, likeness) and transfer portal changes the league has endured in recent years, and the Gators are well ahead of the pack.
Next came the Duke Blue Devils with a convincing win over a scorching hot Alabama Crimson Tide team. Duke, led by freshman superstar Cooper Flagg, shut down a state-of-the-art Bama offense, turning the game into an inch-by-inch war won by tournament experience and hardened expertise.
As a one-seed, much like Florida, Duke was expected to be here. Their final four appearance serves as redemption for a run cut short last year, one they’ll look to fully capitalize on with their first championship since 2015.
The most surprising game on the Elite Eight slate was the 1/2 seed matchup between Houston and Tennessee, in which the Cougars held the Volunteers to a mere 50 points in a convincing, full-on blowout.
As a result, Houston joins the previous two units in the Final Four, whilst Tennessee, in their elimination, continues to progress without a single Final Four appearance in program history. Three teams in, all three a top-seed.
And with Auburn’s victory over Michigan State, this year’s Final Four consists of all four one-seeds for the first time since 2008. The Tigers, in spite of a mid-game injury to star center Jonhi Broome, handled the Spartans most of the way through. Both teams rely greatly on depth and hardened experience, but Auburn’s high-powered SEC offense simply proved too much for the Spartans’ beat-em-up, slower style of play.
The Final Four will take place on Saturday, April 5, featuring matchups between Florida/Auburn and Houston/Duke for a spot in the national title game. This year’s tournament may go down as one of the most predictable in recent memory, but the sheer firepower featured in the last couple of matchups will make for one of the most intense in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
Photo courtesy of Mark Wallheiser.
