For only the second time in modern NCAA tournament history, they have the last four no. 1 seeds. The convergence of Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston in San Antonio marks a suitable finale to one of the critical items in recent memory.
As predictable as the 2025 edition of March Madness has been, the collective strength of the semi -finals in southern Texas should make this one of the more difficult four to project.
All four seeds # 1 give different properties to the Alamodom. Comparison of the attributes that make each run, Saturday’s last four races can shake out as follows:
Auburn vs. Florida
Clatter when the 2024-25 season developed that SEC could match or best Big East’s Record in 1985 by three representatives in Final Four did not come through. Nevertheless, half of the semi -final field frequency is impressive.
A sign of how much conference bloat has changed college basketball: when Georgetown and St. John’s met as No. 1 seeds during the last four 40 years ago, it was their fourth matchup of the campaign.
Almost two months after their lonely meeting, Florida looks to replicate its victory 90-81 at Auburn. Another outstanding 3-point shooting effort from Walter Clayton Jr., who went 4-of-8 last time against Tigers, is crucial.
Clayton’s range has been the catalyst for Gators’ Final Four run in general, starting with its five triples in the regular season final versus Ole Miss. Since then, Clayton has met 13 combined over three matches in the SEC tournament and 14 in the street’s four NCAA tournaments.
In addition to the large volume of Clayton has delivered from the depth, his presence in the connection has been unsurpassed during this season. Against an Auburn defense that only gives up six made 3 points per match, Clayton’s hot streak is an X-factor.
So is the health of the Tigers All-America Big Man Johni Broome. The damage Broome was hit late in its 25-point, 14-rebound MasterClass to beat Michigan State in Elite Eight looked much worse than it turned out.
Broome said Thursday that he is ready to go against Florida. Auburn played without the big man for a couple of Sec games in January and won both, but the tigers become a much more circumference-oriented team offensively without Broome.
If he is not 100 percent, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh may be prepared to use the color and release Clayton as the game progresses.
Winner: Florida claims another high score.
Duke against Houston
March 30, 2025; Indianapolis, I, USA; Houston Cougars forward J’wan Roberts (13) reacts with guard Milos Uzan (7) after the match against Tennessee -Dolunteers in the Midwest Regional Final in 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn images Saturday’s second semi -final offers some remarkable contrasts. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is one of the game’s older statesmen, a long -lasting fixture in college basketball that reached its first last four in 2002 -one year before Duke coach Jon Scheyer debuted as a high school for Glenbrook North High School.
The theme for Old School vs. New also manifests in Sampsons Houston team that plays a methodical style that is based on suffocating defense to set the tone, while Scheyers Blue Devils comes up and down the track to a melody of 83.7 points per match.
Now it would be flat to distinguish the comparative talent levels between the law as another contrast-fox if some have made that comparison on the reason for the Final Four. Houston has a variety of previous top-100 recruits, including Star Veteran LJ Cryer.
None of Cougars came to college with the level of prep star that Cooper flag had before he arrived at Duke. Flag is undoubtedly the most profiled beginner since Duke’s predecessor Zion Williamson and is two victories away from potentially matching Anthony Davis as a first year’s national champion and national players of the year.
Together with Hype that comes in-like flag, if not exceeded, in an 18.9 point, 7.5-Rebound, 4.2-assist-campaign-ger flag also Duke its most difficult quality to overcome: its size.
6-foot-9 flag can go in but sometimes acts as a combination guard. This on its own creates headaches for opponents defensively and, unlike everything Houston’s national leader is 58.3-point-per-game defense has met.
But as the country’s longest team in the entire college basketball this year, Per Kenpom.com, Duke creates as many defensive misunderstandings as offensive. With 6-foot-7 beginner Phenom Kon Knueppel on the wing and 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach down low, Duke has kept opponents to 62.6 points per match.
Houston’s uniquely skilled defense forces even the most productive crimes in a stone fight behind Joseph Tugler, Myik Wilson and Emanuel Sharp. But can Cougars find the crime to surpass Duke, even in a low point?
Cryer may need to call an individual performance similar to Caleb Love’s for Arizona against Duke in Sweet 16.
Winner: Duke gets enough crime to escape Houston’s defensive clamps.
