Seems that having all No. 1 seeds within the Remaining 4 makes for fairly entertaining basketball.
As ridiculously good because the nationwide semifinals have been, nobody might be pining to see Cinderella this late within the NCAA match subsequent 12 months.
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Within the opening sport of Saturday night time’s Remaining 4 doubleheader, Florida rode Walter Clayton Jr.’s torrid taking pictures and improved second-half inside protection to a come-from-behind victory over SEC rival Auburn. Then within the nightcap, Houston held Duke to 1 discipline objective within the last 10 minutes, storming again from a 14-point deficit with eight minutes to go to deny Cooper Flagg a nationwide title shot.
These outcomes depart two groups left standing. Will probably be Florida versus Houston for faculty basketball’s final prize. Both Houston wins its first nationwide title after a litany of close to misses courting again to the Sixties, or Florida joins a listing of 9 males’s faculty basketball packages with three or extra championships.
Under are 4 keys to who wins the sport.
Will Florida or Houston minimize down the nets in San Antonio on Monday night time? (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports activities)
1. Can Houston refocus after beautiful upset of Duke?
It’s fairly doable that Houston has already defeated the very best workforce it’ll face in San Antonio, however the Cougars can’t name themselves champions but. They’ll should topple a second No. 1 seed, one with essentially the most feared nearer in faculty basketball and an array of expertise and expertise surrounding him.
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Traditionally it has been onerous for groups to observe an emotional Remaining 4 win with one other within the title sport. North Carolina ended Mike Krzyzewski’s teaching profession in 2022 … after which misplaced to Kansas two nights later. Wisconsin denied Kentucky an undefeated nationwide title in 2016 … after which blew its personal probability at a championship in opposition to Duke.
If there’s any program that could be proof against such a letdown, it’s Kelvin Sampson’s group of robust, relentless scrappers.
“We all know what’s at stake,” Houston level guard Milos Uzan stated Sunday. “The nationwide championship sport, that’s been our objective. Generally you’ll be able to’t get too excessive on huge wins like that. You’ve obtained to know what’s in entrance of you.”
2. How will Houston defend Walter Clayton Jr.?
Todd Golden calls Walter Clayton Jr. the very best guard in faculty basketball, and it’s onerous to argue. The tough-shot specialist has piled up an NCAA tournament-high 123 factors in 5 victories to this point, including to his repute as essentially the most feared clutch scorer within the faculty sport, the deadly shooter you’ll be able to’t give a sliver of area within the last minutes of a good sport.
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Critically essential for Houston might be to forestall Clayton from getting out in transition, the place he’s a menace to tug up from behind the arc or to assault the rim. As soon as Houston’s vaunted top-ranked protection is about, the Cougars have the power to blitz ball screens, put our bodies in driving lanes and take a look at to verify another person beats them.
“The bottom line is going to be the opposite guys stepping up and making sufficient performs to the place they do not really feel comfy doubling him each time,” Golden stated Sunday. “If our bigs are capable of hit a pair pick-and-pop threes in the course of the ground, I believe that might be essential, which may take away slightly of their aggressiveness within the ball display protection.”
3. Can Florida take away 3-point line from Houston?
Golden didn’t disguise his sport plan on the eve of the title sport. The Florida coach needs to run Houston sharpshooting guards L.J. Cryer, Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp off the 3-point line and pressure them to beat the Gators one other means.
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“They seem to be a distinctive workforce,” Golden stated. “They do not essentially end nice from two. Their two-point discipline objective share is decrease than you’ll anticipate for an elite workforce, however they shoot the ball nice from the three.
“With L.J. and the remainder of the perimeter, we now have to do a very good job of limiting their good 3-point makes an attempt. Large-picture objective goes to be to make them take robust twos.”
After all, in opposition to Houston, forcing a miss is just half the battle. Then Florida has to maintain one of many nation’s high offensive rebounding groups from producing second-chance alternatives.
Mentioned Golden, “If we will do a very good job of retaining them off the boards, we’ll give ourselves an opportunity.”
4. What’s going to Florida get from Alex Condon?
For somebody who has been Florida’s greatest huge man for a lot of the season, sophomore ahead Alex Condon has struggled throughout the NCAA match. He was barely playable within the first half in opposition to Auburn on Saturday as Johni Broome pushed him round within the paint for submit place or offensive rebounds.
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Tentative and hesitant to have a look at the basket on Saturday, Condon completed with extra turnovers (three) than factors (one). He did have some redemptive moments down the stretch within the second half, drawing a key charging foul in opposition to Broome and blocking a shot.
Will probably be essential for Florida for Condon to bounce again on Monday night time. His inside protection and rebounding might be key for the Gators. They’ll additionally want him to provoke 4-on-3 alternatives when he units a ball display for Clayton and Houston sends two defenders at Florida’s star guard.
