The No. 1 Florida Gators made a furious comeback Saturday to defeat No. 3 Texas Tech 84-79 and clinch the first spot in the Final Four.
Later in the evening, the Gators were joined by the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils, who cruised to an 85-65 victory over No. 3 Alabama in the finals of the East Region.
Florida and the Red Raiders tipped off the Elite Eight at Chase Center in San Francisco in the finals of the West Region.
The Gators trailed 71-61 with a little over six minutes left in the second half, at one point going nearly four minutes without scoring. But Florida finished the game on a 23-8 run to avoid an upset and book a ticket to San Antonio.
The Gators were led in scoring by senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 30 points in his best performance of the tournament. Clayton was aided greatly by sophomore forward Thomas Haugh, who added 20 points of his own.
With their team trailing by 10, Haugh and Clayton scored their team’s next 17 points to put Florida ahead 78-77. The dynamic duo hit 7-of-14 shots from three, including five in the game’s final five minutes and 24 seconds.
The Red Raiders were led by junior forward Darrion Williams, who scored 23 in the losing effort. Williams was dominant for much of the night, particularly hurting the Gators when posting up against one-on-one coverage.
Williams and sophomore forward J.T. Toppin, who had 20 points, both had success inside, but the outside shooting swung the game late. After starting the night shooting only 4-of-16 from three, Florida hit five of its last eight attempts. The Gators also got to the free-throw line a whopping 27 times, and hit 25.
By catching fire from deep, Florida was able to overcome an otherwise sloppy performance. The Gators committed 12 turnovers, off of which Texas Tech scored 22 points. Ultimately, as great as the Red Raiders were taking away the ball and getting into the paint, they couldn’t overcome the difference at the three-point and free-throw lines.
Florida, as the winner of the West Region, is now in the Final Four for the first time since 2014.
The Blue Devils, on the other hand, are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2022, and for the first time under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Duke was dominant defensively against the Crimson Tide.
Alabama led the country in scoring during the regular season, but on Saturday night was held to its lowest scoring total since Jan. 14.
The Blue Devils were led by freshman guard Kon Knueppel, who scored 21 points.
Cooper Flagg, the presumptive No. 1 pick in this summer’s upcoming NBA draft, added 16 points. Flagg hit three of his first five field goals, and then only three of his last 11.
Duke’s size and physicality were an issue for the Crimson Tide on either end of the floor.
Offensively, the Blue Devils recorded 40 points in the paint and earned 22 trips to the free-throw line. Duke also shot 53% from the field.
Defensively, the top seed held Alabama to only 35.4% shooting. Senior guard Mark Sears, who scored 34 points for the Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16, was held to six points on 2-of-12 shooting. Sears also had five turnovers.
Alabama never led in the game and the score was never tied after 0-0.
Scheyer, 37, is in his third season as Duke’s head coach. A year after his team was bounced in the Elite Eight, the Blue Devils are now one step closer to their sixth national championship.
