(AP) – The first half of the Final Four is set, with two No. 1 seeds passing by.
Florida and Duke will win the region on Saturday, with fellow top seed Houston and Auburn scheduled to play on Sunday.
Florida became the first Southeastern Conference team and first seed to win a trip to San Antonio behind Walter Clayton Jr.’s clutch performance.
His team dragged a nine with the rest of the three minutes as Clayton took over and hit a three-pointer late in the 3-pointer to win Florida 84-79 in Saturday’s Western Regional Final.
The Clayton hero drove Florida to the Final Four for the first time since 2014. The Gators will play the Auburn and Michigan state winners who will play late on Sunday in the Elite 8.
The victory was the 20th bracket of the year for the SEC, breaking the record for the Atlantic Coast Conference set in 2016.
Duke made sure it didn’t become the All-Sec Final Four. The Blue Devils closed Alabama’s high flight and overcame a rough night of shootings from the National Cooper Flag with an 85-65 victory in the East Region Finals.
Duke will win the Houston-Tennessee winner next Saturday.
Game to watch
Houston (33-4) vs Tennessee (30-7), Indianapolis. Two of the country’s best defensive teams will compete for the final four spot in the Midwest final. Houston is the defensive standard for college basketball under manager Kelvin Sampson, allowing 59 points per game since 2018, including the NCAA top 58.5 this season. Tennessee is the top 10 nationally in scoring and field goal ratios. Three of the four finalists from Defensive Player of the Year are on the floor. Tennessee forward Jamai Mashak, teammate Zakaisey Glar and Houston’s big man Joseph Tagler. The Cougars reached the third Elite 8 in the last five years, winning Purdue 62-60 with a layup from Milos Uzan, with an inbound play with 0.9 seconds remaining. Tennessee bent their defensive stances at Sweet 16 and shut down Sec’s rival Kentucky with a 78-65 victory. The first 1-50 may win this.
Auburn (31-5) vs Michigan (30-6), Atlanta. The top two Southern Region teams will play in the Final 4 spots. Auburn’s coach Bruce Pearl tried to claim the Tigers were underdogs, but they were in the Elite 8, where they had two consecutive wins, and spent eight weeks first in the AP Top 25 than the rest of the teams this season. Auburn gathered in the second half to beat Michigan 78-65 with a Sweet 16. Part of Pearl’s underdog reasoning is the coach on the other side of the court. Michigan’s Tom Izzo led the Spartans to the 11th Elite 8 and won the ninth Final Four. The Spartans played roughly like a typical Izzo, winning a 73-70 victory over Mississippi in the Sweet 16. This game has a lot of talent on the floor. Auburn’s Johnny Bloom is SEC Player of the Year and one of his favourites to win the National Player of the Year. Michigan’s Jace Richardson is a dynamic freshman guard and could be the first round NBA draft pick when he came out.
How can I see it?
All the games of the men’s tournament will air – here’s the schedule – either CBS, TBS, TNT, or digital platforms including TRUTV and Paramount+. CBS will air Final Four and National Title Games. The NCAA streams the game via the March Madness Live option.
Who is your favorite?
According to the BetMgm Sportsbook, the best bet favorites for Sweet 16 when it arrived (in order) were (in order): Duke, Florida, Houston and Auburn.
When is the game?
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight from March 27th to 30th include games in Newark, New Jersey (East Region), Atlanta (South), Indianapolis (Midwest) and San Francisco (West). The final four will be in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5th, with the championship game on April 7th.
