RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. and Florida ended UConn’s pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the top-seeded Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points as Florida (32-4), one of the favorites for this year’s title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies (24-11), who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half.
Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Colorado State or Maryland in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco.
UConn was seeking to become the first team to three-peat since UCLA’s run of seven straight titles from 1967-73.
The Huskies won the 2023 title in Houston and last year in Glendale, Arizona, joining Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only schools to win back-to-back since the Bruins’ run under John Wooden.
Florida entered the game ranked No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency by scoring 128.9 points per 100 possessions, and the Gators of the powerful Southeastern Conference joined fellow 1-seed Duke as the only teams to rank in the top 10 on both sides of the ball, making them a popular pick to cut down the nets.
But the Huskies’ defense stymied the Gators for most of the game, holding Florida to 35% shooting through the first 30 minutes to build a 52-46 lead.
The Gators chipped away and Clayton came alive. He made a 3 from the right wing with 2:54 left to put Florida ahead 62-61, and teammate Will Richard followed with a steal and dunk. Clayton’s 3 from the same spot with 1:06 left made it 70-64 — part of a 14-3 run that gave Florida an eight-point advantage with 40 seconds left.
UConn twice fail to corral offensive rebounds off missed Florida free throws down the stretch, leading to points for the Gators. But even when Florida seemed to have the game in hand, UConn kept fighting. Thomas Haugh’s two free throws with 5.9 seconds left pushed the lead to five.
Hurley watched, arms folded, standing on the sideline as Liam McNeeley’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sailed skyward and dropped through the net as the horn sounded.
McNeeley led UConn with 22 points, and Alex Karaban scored 14. Alijah Martin contributed 18 points for UConn and Richard had 15.
Takeaways
UConn: A major rebuild is in store for the Huskies, who struggled to replace losing four starters to the NBA last season.
Florida: The Gators took a huge step forward. Coach Todd Golden has resurrected the program in a span of three years, but he had never won a March Madness game before this year.
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