On the backs of their determination, relentless intensity, and timely shot making the Florida Gators are National Championship bound.
For twenty minutes it looked like it was the Auburn Tigers who were controlling play, slowing the game down to a crawl and out-executing the Gators in a game that was two teams trading half court possessions. Early in the second the Tigers stretched their lead to 49-40 and looked to have momentum going in their favor, but that was the moment Florida tightened up and turned things around, quickly surging back and taking the lead. While they never were able to stretch it out to a massive amount they pushed it to two possessions in the final minutes and that was enough to give them the 79-73 lead–earning them a trip to Monday’s National Championship game.
Winning Ugly
Throughout the regular season and in early rounds of the postseason it is all about finding ways to win, and that can often be through scrappy play and out-efforting the opponent. However, when it comes to the late round of the NCAA Tournament–usually it’s about playing your style of game to the best of your ability and having your best beat that of your opponent’s. Well, that wasn’t the case for the Gators and Tigers. More accurately, for the first half–it was. Both teams were walking the ball up the court and getting through their actions, a methodical pace that favored the Tigers much more than the Gators. Then came the second, where the Gators were able to speed up the pace and make the game a beautiful mess, the kind of symphony of chaos that Florida thrives in. After just two turnovers in the first half, Auburn had twelve in the second half. Mind you, Florida had their fair share of issues when it came to ball security as well with 16 turnovers of their own–but this game completely turned from a style that benefited Auburn to one that was extremely comfortable for the Gators. You don’t always have the opportunity to win ugly this late in the NCAA Tournament but Florida gritted it out, and it seems like it could be just another chapter in their charmed National Championship run.
Staying The Course
All season long, and really throughout the short Todd Golden era, the Gators have been a team that have had an unshakeable belief in their process and the idea that if they stick to their game plan and execute–they will win. This is a contrast to some other coaches and teams that want to make adjustments on the fly, risking some unfamiliarity to try and get an edge on their opponent. Going into the game with Auburn, Florida was resolute in their game plan to single cover post up players in order to take away clean looks from three on kick outs. In the first half–Auburn was having their way on the block, particularly with Johni Broome who was able to get bucket after bucket on Florida’s smaller frontcourt. A lot of coaches would make changes if this started to happen–but not the Gators. Going into the second half they continued to guard Auburn’s bigs one on one, believing that the numbers would be in their favor. Surely enough, Broome’s hook shots stopped falling, and turnovers started to occur. All the time Auburn was never able to turn post ups into kick out threes, with Auburn finishing just 7-25 from deep. This was an example of the Gators staying true to their game plan and believing in their plan entering the game, and it was a huge reason why they were able to beat the Tigers.
Leading The Way
If you’re going to win huge games in March you need your best players to be your best players and that was once again the case with Walter Clayton who finished with 34 points, once again dazzling with his ability to hit shots off the dribble. This performance put Clayton in some rare air with some of the greats of college basketball. With back-to-back 30 point performances, Clayton became the first player to score 30 in the Elite Eight and Final Four since Larry Bird did it in 1979. He is also the first player with 30 points in a Final Four game since Carmelo Anthony did it in 2003. If you’re reading this, you obviously know what a special player Walter Clayton is–but seeing these records shows even more what an incredible run he is having.
Final Thoughts
It’s always true that in order to win a National Championship you need to be able to win games in different ways on your way to that final victory. The Gators have done just that, with their offense, defense, and toughness all on display in differing amounts on different days to give them wins on the way to where they are now–a National Championship game. Florida will sit back to recover and watch the Duke-Houston semifinal to see who they will play on Monday.