PHOENIX — For three weeks, the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament lacked the chaos fans have come to expect. The Cinderellas never showed up, and the blue bloods and top seeds held serve. Brackets mainly stayed intact, and by the time the Final Four rolled into San Antonio, many wondered aloud: Where was the madness in March Madness?
Turns out we were just waiting for the Final Four.
Some would say that the Men’s Final Four has a certain “mojo” and uniqueness, unlike anything in sports. The NCAA spreads it around, usually between six and seven select cities across the country, and if there’s anyone who knows about the first Saturday and Monday in April and its uniqueness, it’s probably me.
Growing up in Houston, I know that the Final Four has always had some of the wackiest turn of events during those two nights at NRG Stadium. From one of the worst championship games in modern history in 2011, with Connecticut needing only 53 points to beat Butler to win the title, to arguably the most thrilling championship game ever played between Villanova and North Carolina in 2016. And to cap it all off, the last time “the road ended” as the NCAA likes to say in Houston, a four, two fives and an eleven seed where the previous four teams standing, leading to another buzzer beater victory in H-Town, courtesy of San Diego State, and yet another coronation moment for the Huskies.
But more importantly, this “mojo” that I’ve experienced up close and personal seemed to happen this year just two and a half hours west. As you probably heard, this year’s Final Four is just the second in the tournament’s history to have all four number one seeds reach the national semifinals, leaving much chagrin across the country for the lack of parody.
But in a weekend that delivered three thrilling games, two unfathomable comebacks, and a deserving champion decided in literally the final seconds, the 2025 Men’s Final Four proved that competitiveness, not unpredictability, ultimately defines great basketball.
If you tuned in looking for upsets, this tournament may have disappointed you. But if you value edge-of-your-seat, high-level hoops between the nation’s best? These games were everything you could have asked for.
The battle between the final two from the sport’s best conference started on Saturday night in the semifinals when the Florida Gators faced off against the Auburn Tigers in a battle to decide which school would be the first SEC representative in a title game since Karl Anthony Towns’s Kentucky Wildcats in 2014. In the end, the contest that played out epitomized resilience and determination.
The Gators, on the back of senior guard Walter Clayton Jr.’s 34 points, whose NBA draft stock continues to rise, secured a nailbiting 79-73 victory. It was a game with 15 lead changes and 10 ties, and it forced the boys from Gainseville to overcome a formidable Auburn squad they had faced twice before Saturday. But in the end, the Gators could execute under pressure, as they rallied in the closing minutes, showcasing their depth and composure.
Hours later, the Duke Blue Devils seemed to be on the verge of a comfortable trip to yet another national championship game, holding the Houston Cougars down with a 14-point lead with just over eight minutes to play.
But the identity that had defined Kelvin Sampson’s program for nearly a decade shined again in the final minutes, helping them emerge victorious with a narrow 70-67 win. It was a testament to their disciplined approach and ability to capitalize on critical moments, and Duke’s efforts, though valiant, were thwarted by Houston’s relentless defense.
Now, fast-forward to Monday night, where the Gators and Cougars’ championship game was filled with a very similar energy to the second semifinal.
Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, Florida orchestrated a remarkable turnaround of their own, including playing defense that forced Houston to finish the night with their two worst offensive possessions of the season, clinching a thrilling 65-63 victory. Clayton, scoreless in the first half, emerged as a pivotal figure in the latter stages, to little suprise, contributing 11 crucial points and delivering the game-sealing defensive play in the final seconds.
“It’s a feeling I can’t explain, but I knew we had it in us,” Clayton said while standing beside the national championship trophy. “It was about staying focused and believing in each other.”
And to make coincidences even worst for Houston, Clayton’s head coach, Todd Golden, a Phoenix native, became the youngest coach to win a national title since Jim Valvano did in 1983 for NC State: a game that some consider one of the best college basketball history, and one that the Cougs were also on the wrong side of.
“This group has shown time and again that they can rise to any challenge. Their resilience is unmatched,” Golden stated.
It may be fair to say the lack of major upsets in this year’s tournament might have suggested a predictable path to the finals. However, the sheer competitiveness and nail-biting finishes of the Final Four and championship game, shown most by Florida’s resilience, dispelled any notions of monotony.
These matchups served as a reminder that in college basketball, the genuine excitement often lies not in the unexpected underdog victories but in the relentless pursuit of excellence by evenly matched teams.
So let’s retire the idea that the only good March is a messy one. This year, the giants held firm. And when they met head-on in San Antonio, they didn’t disappoint.
The bracket may have lacked surprises. The basketball didn’t.
