San Antonio
CNN
—
They say everything is bigger in Texas, so it’s only fitting that Saturday’s men’s Final Four in San Antonio is super-sized.
For the first time since 2008 – also played in San Antonio – and only the second time ever, the four No. 1 seeds have made it all the way to the season’s final weekend. In front of more than 60,000 fans in the Alamodome, two teams from the nation’s best conference, the sport’s best player and one of the best college coaches of his generation will all collide looking for the ultimate prize: A national championship.
The first game is an all-Southeastern Conference affair as Auburn and Florida face off at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, their second matchup of the season. The winner of that game will face Duke or Houston, who face off at 8:50 p.m. ET Saturday. Both games will air on CBS.
The winners of the showdowns in the Alamo City will lead to one last showdown at 8:50 p.m. ET on Monday in the national championship game.
Auburn and Florida show off SEC’s college basketball dominance
It’s certainly been a campaign to remember for the SEC.
Traditionally, the southern sports world orbits around football but the 2024-25 season saw the SEC take over the mantle of best basketball conference in the nation. The two teams that can claim championships this year – Auburn in the regular season, Florida in the conference tournament – are the last two teams standing and will guarantee that a SEC team will be playing for a national title on Monday.
“It is clear that the SEC has had the best efficiency margin over any league the past 20 years, I believe,” said Todd Golden, Florida’s head coach. “The success that the league has had in the tournament has been pretty amazing. To your point, whether it’s us or Auburn, one of us is going to be playing for a national championship on Monday night. I think that speaks enough for itself.”
The two top teams from that conference have taken very different routes to get to this point. Auburn had comfortable victories over Alabama State, Creighton, Michigan before a tougher Elite Eight test from Michigan State to get to San Antonio. Florida, meanwhile, has almost become the first top seed to be knocked out of the tournament on a couple different occasions – after rolling against Norfolk State, the Gators only just survived UConn in the round of 32 and faced another stern test in the Elite Eight with a survive-and-advance win over Texas Tech in which they trailed by double-digits at one point.
Florida’s recent run of success – winners of 10 straight games dating back to February 25 and 34-4 on the year – have Bruce Pearl feeling like his Auburn Tigers are the underdog, even if they’re the top overall seed in the tournament.
“We’re probably considered the fourth best team here right now,” Pearl said Thursday. “There is nothing new. I prefer the underdog role rather than having to prove that we’re as good as we say we are. So, we’re going to take that underdog role into the Final Four and see if we can capitalize on it.”
The only other time these two intraconference foes faced each other this season was on February 8 when the Gators went into Auburn’s home arena and ended the Tigers’ 14-game winning streak.
Led by Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, who played in the Final Four with Florida Atlantic University two years ago, the Gators will look to use their high-flying offense that averages 85 points per game to outrun the Tigers. But Auburn has the SEC player of the year in Johni Broome and an offense that can hang with the Gators.
Usually late-season tournament matchups between conference foes lead to coaches having a quiet confidence. The level of familiarity that teams build with each other during the conference season usually gives coaches or players enough of an insight on how to beat each other.
Golden told reporters that he’s feeling good about the Gators’ chance to get by the Tigers one more time.
“Our teams know each other really well at this point. We are going to show these guys what we call our keys in personnel probably three more times before the ball goes in the air,” Golden said. “I would venture to guess Will (Richard, senior guard) could tell you player by player right now the tendencies that each of these Auburn players have, what they like to run, whether it is out of bounds, halfcourt, on the sidelines. That’s more of us as coaches covering our butts saying you were prepared to do these things.
“We have to play hard, defend well, be physical, rebound well, we have to be strong with the ball and take care of it, just do the things we’ve done all year to make us really, really consistent. The great thing is we have shot-makers on the team, and you have to make shots to win the game.”
Pearl said he’s not exactly feeling that way, saying he feels like Florida is playing the best basketball of the teams left in the tournament.
“I’ve seen enough Florida tape to make me sick,” he said Friday with a smile. “They’re really good.”
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Houston has home-state advantage, but powerful Duke has Cooper Flagg
The University of Houston Cougars are the only team in San Antonio that traveled the actual road to the Final Four for this weekend’s games. The Alamodome is just three short hours west on Interstate 10 from campus and there’s going to be a red-and-white parade of vehicles heading deep into the heart of Texas for Saturday.
The Cougars will need every ounce of that collective energy to overcome a Duke squad that has looked unstoppable for vast swaths of the last month.
The Blue Devils have only had one game in which they were tested during this run to the Final Four, overcoming a tough Arizona test in the Sweet 16. Otherwise the closest game they had was in the Elite Eight, when they cruised past Alabama in a 20-point win.
Led by Cooper Flagg, who could be named the Naismith Player of the Year on Saturday as the best player in men’s college basketball, Duke is firmly the favorite to take home the national championship trophy on Monday. Flagg and fellow freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach lead the way, but the veteran leadership and experience provided by junior Tyrese Proctor and graduate student Sion James make Duke look like a juggernaut on paper.
“First of all, they don’t have any freshmen. They were freshmen in November and December. They were sophomores in January and February. March and April, they’re vets,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I watch Cooper Flagg. … It’s hard to say what he’s not good at. Now, he’s not as great at some things as he is at others. His floor is really good at everything. But his ceiling is just his size, finishes with his left hand around the paint, right hand has a floater, can make a three. Really good free throw shooter. If you double him, you better get there quick ‘cause he can pass.”
But on the hardwood, Houston’s suffocating defense might just be their kryptonite. The veteran Cougars only allow a little more than 58 points per game on average and hold their opponents to just 38% shooting from the field. They rely on a combination of intensity and familiarity with one another – star guard Milos Uzan is the only player they brought in during last year’s transfer window and 80% of the team’s minutes are from players who were on the team in the 2023-24 season.
If they’re able to clamp down on Flagg and company in front of the huge crowd at the Alamodome, the Lone Star State might well be represented in the national title game on Monday.
“You have to give them a lot of credit for what they’ve been able to do all year long with the pressure and the effort they play with every single night,” Flagg told reporters Friday. “I think that’s the biggest thing from watching all the film and whatnot. Just seeing the amount of effort and pressure they’re able to put on teams is the biggest thing I’ve seen so far.”
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer added, “I would just say been fortunate or not fortunate to coach against these guys a couple times. One in a scrimmage, then last year in the Sweet 16. Just watching them on film, any Coach Sampson team, you talk about five guys moving as one on defense, they’re the epitome of that. Whenever something is happening, you see five guys always moving. So, the window of opportunity you have is smaller than a regular game you play.”
But if there’s one freshman in the country who will be ready to handle that intense pressure, it’s Flagg.
The nation’s top recruit came to Duke and immediately was the most watched player in the nation. All through the season, he’s had every eye in every arena trained on him and been talked about more than any other player. How has he handled that pressure? By averaging almost 19 points per game to lead the team, grabbing an average of 7.5 rebounds and being a defensive force close to the basket.
“It’s just the work and hours you put in,” Flagg said of the source of his confidence. “So many hours I’ve been in the gym by myself with my trainer Matt this year working on the skills, putting in the hours that you just trust that. It’s just coming from game experience, being in the moments, just trusting what you’ve done to get to where you are.”