The 2025 NCAA Tournament may have lacked upsets, but it more than made up for it with thrilling … More
Prior to the start of the Final Four, the negative storylines were well in place that the demise of March Madness was here during the NIL era of college basketball.
After all, we were seeing all four No. 1 seeds represented in the Final Four, the first time since 2008 that’s occurred. In fact, it was hard to think of many upsets throughout the run of the 2025 tournament outside of No. 12 McNeese State over the No. 5-seeded Clemson Tigers.
Even following one of the most thrilling set of semifinals matchups in NCAA tournament history between Florida-Auburn and Houston-Duke, much had been made over the fact that two No. 1 seeds in the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars were matching up.
It was just the 11th time that two No. 1’s in the championship game were matching up since 1979. It also marked just the second time since that year that back-to-back title games saw two No. 1’s going at it.
We can put those topics to rest.
The Gators pulled off a thrilling 65-63win over the Cougars, overcoming a 12-point deficit against the nation’s best defensive unit. Despite their best player, Walter Clayton Jr., being stifled for zero points during the first half, the Gators (and Clayton) overcome their sluggish start to go on a 14-3 run to take control of the game during the second half.
Hope seemed lost for the Gators as they fell behind 42-30 with under 16 minutes remaining. Several questionable calls went against their way, including three off-the-ball fouls that changed the momentum of the game.
This was during a time Clayton Jr. had yet to score a point and had started the game 0-for-5 from the field.
And then the Gators slowly took control.
Clayton Jr. finally scored his first points of the game at the 14:57 mark of the second half and Florida went on an 8-0 run shortly thereafter, punctuated by Thomas Haugh’s layup – with the foul and free throw – to trim the deficit to just three points.
“Just keep going,” said Clayton on his mindset despite the struggles. “Stats don’t mean nothing. The only thing that matters is that score. Just keep going out there and try to make plays.”
Up until Alijah Martin’s free throw that gave the Gators a 46-45 lead with 46 seconds left, Florida had led for a total of just 17 seconds during the game. It’s a lead the Gators would never relinquish and what eventually led to Alex Condon’s game-winning steal that saw Houston’s Emanuel Sharp unable to get a shot off as time ticked off.
“Probably not, no,” said Haugh when asked if there was any moment it felt like the Gators were in control. “It was anybody’s game out there at the end, but we came out at the end, made a play and got it done. We didn’t lead for much time.”
It’s not an overstatement to say it – this year’s Final Four was one of the best of all time.
While many like to lean towards the negative in today’s age, complaining about how schools are buying their players with NIL money and how the college programs with the most money have eliminated the potential of any cinderella teams, the fact is this — March Madness is still exciting. It just looks a bit different in today’s age.
It remains to be seen how the NCAA Tournament Championship produces in the TV ratings department, but the early returns are positive. In an age where ratings are declining across the board – the NFL is the only sport that is foolproof in that regard – the first two games of the Final Four averaged 15.3 million viewers and peaked at 20.4 million.
For perspective, that ranks as the highest viewed Final Four since 2017. It’s no coincidence that this year’s average margin across the three games was 3.6 points. Games hadn’t been this closely contested since 2017, when the average margin was also 3.6 points per game.
Viewers reveled as they witnessed Duke – led by future No. 1 NBA pick and National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg – crumble, blowing a 14-point lead in their loss to Houston. It was the fifth-largest blown lead in Final Four history.
Viewers were then treated to the main event which saw the Gators overcome a massive deficit of their own to knock out the defensive-dominant cougars, tied for the third-largest comeback in a national championship game.
“I didn’t feel like we had much control of the game,” said Gators head coach Todd Golden after the game. “I thought Houston was controlling tempo. I thought they were controlling with their physicality. There was an interesting technical call on our bench that I thought was an issue we had to battle through. It was our defense. It was stops.”
In other words, this year’s tournament certainly didn’t lack in drama.
While there may have been no cinderella teams in this year’s tournament, it was replaced by quality play where the absolute best teams actually made it to the Final Four. In other words, because the four best teams in college basketball throughout the entire season represented the Final Four, there was little room for any potential blowouts.
What you saw in the Final Four was the best player – a generational prospect – who will not only be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but will likely be one of the dominant forces in the league for the next decade in Duke’s Flagg.
What you also saw was two dominant teams from the SEC in Florida and the Auburn Tigers – the Tigers were No. 1 in the country for eight consecutive weeks – and a Houston team that had previously been in the title game back in 2022. This was their third consecutive season they were ranked No. 1 in their region and the second consecutive year they led the nation in points allowed.
That may be frustrating for casual fans who tune in only during the NCAA Tournament to see bracket busters and no-name teams pull off upsets. Many of those no-name teams in which casual fans don’t even know what state they play in.
This year’s Final Four may have only seen the “superpower” teams make it, but as the Gators illustrated on their path to a championship – along with the three other teams – that’s not such a bad thing after all.
March Madness here is to stay during the NIL era.
