As the final buzzer sounded in State Farm Arena, history was made. For the first time since 2008, all four No. 1 seeds swept their regions and punched their tickets to the Final Four.
Here’s how every top-seed secured their spot in San Antonio for a chance to play in the National Championship.
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No. 1 Florida defeated No. 3 Texas Tech
Just a week ago, Walter Clayton Jr. shot Florida into the Sweet 16 after helping the Gators defeat the two-time defending National Champion UConn Huskies.
Clayton drilled a three-pointer over Alex Karaban with under three minutes to play in the second half to give Florida a 62-61 lead. The Iona transfer then faked a drive and shot a fadeaway triple over Hassan Diarra to bury a dagger that extended Florida’ lead to six. The Gators won 77-75.
On Saturday, Clayton found March Magic again.
With the Gators down 10 with just over five minutes remaining in the second half, Clayton drilled a three from the corner after a shooter’s bounce cut the lead to seven. He then drove hard right past Christian Anderson to muscle in a layup and dished out back-to-back assists to Thomas Haugh for two threes.
On the ensuing possession, Clayton wrapped around a screen and matched up with Darrion Williams. He put the moves on the forward, snatching back and creating space en route to burying a game-tying triple from the left wing.
He saved his best for last. Clayton caught a pass inside the paint and immediately dribbled out to the three-point line. Texas Tech was slow to pick up on the most dangerous shooter on the floor. As two defenders rotated over, it was too late. Clayton pulled up and cashed in a shot over two defenders that gave Florida a 78-77 lead they never looked back on.
Clayton finished the game with 30 points to help lead the Gators to an 84-79 victory over Texas Tech to secure their first Final Four bid since 2014. Haugh added 20 points off the bench with four threes and Alijah Martin scored 10 points.
Williams led the Red Raiders with 23 points while JT Toppin posted a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Chance McMillian, who hadn’t played in a game since the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal, posted 14 points in his return to action.
Both teams battled early, with Florida taking a 40-37 advantage into the half after a back-and-forth frame that saw four lead changes.
In the second half, Texas Tech hung close with the Gators before building their 10-point lead with just over five minutes to play. Behind Clayton and Haugh, the Gators rattled off a 17-6 run to take the lead on Clayton’s triple. Once Texas Tech began intentionally fouling, Clayton, Martin and Will Richard calmly sank their free throws to keep the game out of reach.
The Red Raiders went cold over this period, failing to convert on two one-and-one opportunities and missing three shots from beyond the arc.
Fouls burned Texas Tech, as 18 personal fouls turned into 27 free throw attempts for the Gators, in which they converted 25. The Red Raiders struggled from the line, shooting 53.8% on 13 attempts.
They will now play a familiar foe—SEC rival Auburn in the Final Four with a trip to the National Championship game on the line.
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No. 1 Duke defeated No. 2 Alabama
Duke defeated Alabama 85-65 to advance to their 18th Final Four in program history.
Kon Knueppel led the Blue Devils with 21 points while Tyrese Proctor continued his dominant tournament, finishing with 17 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting night. SLAM cover star Cooper Flagg scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while his frontcourt partner Khaman Maluach finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman star Labaron Philon led the Crimson Tide with 16 points. Chris Youngblood and Grant Nelson both finished with 10 points. Despite boasting the top scoring offense in the country, Alabama only had three players crack double-digit scoring numbers. Mark Sears, the Tide’s leading scorer, could not replicate his 34-point clinic against BYU, as he finished with six points on an inefficient 2-12 shooting night.
Duke dominated the entire game, never giving up the lead. They held the nation’s top offense to 65 points, 25 points less than Alabama’s average of 90.7 points per game. The Crimson Tide struggled to find efficiency, as the team shot 35.4% from the field and only made eight triples, a stark contrast from the 25 they sank in the Sweet 16.
Duke took a 46-37 lead into halftime and rattled off a 20-7 run in the final eight minutes of the game to punch their ticket to San Antonio.
The Blue Devils will now play the Houston Cougars on Saturday in what will shape out to be a defensive slugfest between two of the top-ranked scoring defenses in the nation.
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No. 1 Houston defeated No. 2 Tennessee
Houston routed Tennessee 69-50 to advance to their second Final Four under head coach Kelvin Sampson.
L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 17 points and seven boards while Emanuel Sharp added 16 points and four triples. Projected first-round draft pick Joseph Tugler finished with six points and nine rebounds.
Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey both led the Vols with 17 points each. Lanier struggled with efficiency, shooting 4-18 from the field and 2-12 from beyond the arc. Coming off the bench, Gainey shot 6-12 from the field and made 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc. No other Tennessee player scored more than five points in the game.
Houston dominated the first half, holding the Tennessee offense to 15 points. The Cougars quickly built a double-digit lead only nine minutes into the first half after a balanced attack led by Cryer, Milos Uzan and Sharp.
The Vols didn’t break 10 points on offense until there were just over three minutes left in the opening frame. Houston rode their defensive momentum into taking a 34-15 lead into the half.
Houston turning defense into offense
#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/RZssyVfazD
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 30, 2025
The Vols regained their offensive identity in the second half, as they scored 35 points from triples and drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line. But after cutting the Cougars’ lead to 10 points with just over five minutes to play, Houston rained threes to pull away late.
Sharp, Mylik Wilson and Cryer each buried five triples on consecutive possessions to build an 18-point lead and close out the game.
Houston’s defense held the Vols to 28.8% shooting from the floor and 17.2% from beyond the arc, a stark contrast to their 50.9% shooting night against Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
The Cougars will now look to lock down Duke in the Final Four for a chance at advancing to the program’s first National Championship appearance since 1984.
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No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 2 Michigan State
An injury wasn’t going to stop the SEC Player of the Year from showing out in the biggest game of his career.
After attempting to block a reverse layup by Frankie Fidler, Broome landed awkwardly, clutching his left knee and right elbow.
Shaking his head, Broome was greeted on his walk to the locker room by a standing ovation from the Auburn faithful. Minutes later, Broome got an even bigger ovation.
Broome came out of the locker room and immediately checked into the game. He set a screen for Miles Kelly and immediately buried a three to give Auburn a 12-point lead with under five to play, sending a roar from the Auburn crowd throughout the arena.
oh Johni… where do i even begin
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 30, 2025
Broome’s double-double helped lift Auburn to a 70-64 victory over Michigan State, sending the Tigers to their second Final Four in program history.
Broome led the Tigers with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while fellow SLAM cover co-star Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points off the bench.
Jaxon Kohler led Michigan State with a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Akins added 15 points and Jase Richardson scored 11 points on an inefficient 4-13 shooting night.
Auburn threatened to pull away early, opening the game on a 23-8 run. The Spartans responded with triples from Kohler and Fidler, cutting the deficit to single digits before the Tigers took a nine-point lead into the half.
Michigan State battled in the second half, cutting the lead to five three minutes into the final frame. However, that would be the closest they would get. A Chad Baker-Mazara triple and Dylan Cardwell layup pushed the deficit back to double-digits, and the Spartans failed to catch up for the remainder of the game.
Despite outscoring Auburn 40-37 in the second half, the first-half woes proved too large to overcome for Michigan State.
The Spartans shot an inefficient 34.4% from the field and 30.4% from beyond the arc. Auburn shot 42.6% from the floor and 28% from beyond the arc. Despite winning by six, the Tigers struggled from the free-throw line, converting 11 shots in 20 attempts.
The Tigers will now face Florida in the Final Four for a chance to advance to the program’s first-ever National Championship game.
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