Florida will play for the national championship.
The top-seeded Gators eliminated fellow No. 1 seed Auburn 79-73 in the men's Final Four Saturday, punching their ticket to compete for the title.
The Tigers led 46-38 after the first half, with Johni Broome predictably leading the stat sheet. The big man logged 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, missing his two 3-point attempts but adding four rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Broome received better help from his teammates, with Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly adding eight points apiece from the starting lineup. Chaney Johnson and Tahaad Pettiford brought nine points combined off the bench, a slightly better margin than the Gators. Auburn also shot just 4 of 15 (26.7%) from deep compared to 4 of 10 for Florida.
While Walter Clayton Jr. did his thing with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting, bringing his pure hoops to the floor, only Alijah Martin proved key in the scoring column with 10 points. Florida had five turnovers at the break to just two for Auburn, while the Tigers also dominated in the paint at 26 to 14, mainly thanks to Broome.
But Florida turned it around massively in the second half, with Clayton Jr. pushing the charge. The Gators outscored Auburn 41-27 in the last 20 minutes (including an 11-0 start), with Clayton Jr. ending the game recording 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting (5 of 8 from deep) and making all seven free throws. He added four assists and two steals.
The Gators slightly regressed from 3-point range (8 of 21, 38%) while converting 21 of 30 free throws, but Auburn faltered more in the second half that made the difference. Alongside Clayton Jr., Martin added 17 points on an efficient 6 of 10 shooting.
For the Tigers, Broome's inefficient shooting came back to haunt the team. He made just one field goal in the second half and dropped to 6 of 14 shooting, but did help overall with seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
Thomas Haugh made a key difference off the bench, chipping in with 12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, one steal and an assist while making some clutch free throws down the stretch. Alex Condon, however, struggled, logging just one point and missing all five field goals.
Baker-Mazara ended up leading the team with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting (4 of 7 from deep), with Denver Jones the only other player in double figures (10). Auburn also shot just 7 of 25 (28%) from long range while converting just 16 of 23 foul-line attempts (69.6%).
Turnovers in the second half also played an imperative part. Auburn finished the game with 14 turnovers, with Florida turning those into 16 points. But with the Gators' 16 errors, the Tigers could muster only six. The Gators also cut back into the points-in-the-paint difference, being outscored just 34-30 after a double-digit first-half margin.
Florida will now play the winner of either No. 1 Duke or No. 1 Houston in the national championship game on Monday. Tipoff time in San Antonio is set for 8:50 p.m. ET, 5:50 p.m. PT.
The Gators are seeking their third national championship in program history. They first appeared in the title game in 2000, but didn't win until 2006 before repeating the following season.
On the other hand, Auburn's title drought will continue. The Tigers made the Final Four for the first time in 2019, but did not advance. History repeated itself once again.
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