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Stephen A. lets Shannon hear it for siding with Duke (1:49)
Stephen A. Smith reacts to Shannon Sharpe being the highest on Duke among the men’s Final Four teams. (1:49)
Some of the NCAA tournament’s greatest moments in history have been created by teams that crashed the party. Cinderella teams are often the most entertaining participants each year, with the likes of George Mason, Saint Peter’s, Oakland, Mercer, Norfolk State and other underdogs creating lasting, grand memories in March.
That’s the beauty of this time of year: the overlooked always have a shot — and sometimes take it — on the national stage.
This year’s tournament is different. All tournament long it has been about chalk, and the stronger teams prevailing (with a few exceptions). And that extends to the 2025 Final Four participants, powerhouse programs who separated themselves from the rest of the field early in the regular season. Florida, Houston, Duke and Auburn were always great, and always contenders.
Their success has been rewarded with a trip to San Antonio next weekend, where one of them will be crowned the next national champion. The debate of which team that will be is for another time. But here, we look at how the four programs left standing rank now.
Original seed: No. 1 seed (East)
Path to Final Four: Def. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 93-49; def. No. 9 Baylor 89-66; def. No. 4 Arizona 100-93; def. No. 2 Alabama 85-65
Only a handful of people can relate to Jon Scheyer’s experience of following Mike Krzyzewski, the winningest coach in the history of the game and, to many, the greatest coach of all time. Most successors to legendary coaches generally struggle to handle the pressure and the expectations that come with taking over. UCLA had four coaches in a 10-year span after John Wooden retired. North Carolina has twice witnessed rocky stretches after both Dean Smith and Roy Williams retired. Indiana has hired six different coaches since Bobby Knight’s controversial departure 25 years ago.
Scheyer has delivered perhaps the most impressive transfer of power — at this stage — in college basketball history. And he’s only three seasons into the job. In his third season at Duke, Krzyzewski was fighting to keep his job after winning only three conference games. Things changed, and he built a legacy of success that has helped Scheyer. But Scheyer deserves credit for maintaining the program’s success.
This season, he has done it with a bunch of young talent, including an 18-year-old named Cooper Flagg, who should be a senior in high school right now. This era of college basketball — centered on the transfer portal and a generation of fifth-year stars due to the extra COVID-19 year — has favored teams with veterans. Yet, here is Scheyer, emerging from the shadows of his legendary predecessor and reaching the Final Four on his own with a young Duke team that ranks top-five in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom.
Up next: vs. Houston in San Antonio (Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET, CBS)
Original seed: No. 1 seed (West)
Path to Final Four: Def. No. 16 Norfolk State 95-69; def. No. 8 UConn 77-75; def. No. 4 Maryland 87-71; def. No. 3 Texas Tech 84-79
The greatest players show up when they’re needed, and it’s in those moments that they cement their legacies. Walter Clayton Jr. continues to push for a place among that group, as one of the best Gators in program history. That list of Florida greats includes future NBA standouts such as Al Horford, Bradley Beal, Joakim Noah and Mike Miller — though only Horford and Noah won national championships while in Gainesville.
Clayton can give Florida a third.
Whenever Florida seemed on the verge of falling apart during this tournament, the former Iona transfer stepped up. With the Gators down nine points against Texas Tech on Saturday night with 3:14 to play, he hit a trio of 3-pointers in a furious comeback. He also hit clutch shots late against UConn in the second round. But his excellence also extends to the regular season. He had nine points in a five-minute stretch in the second half of a March 5 win against Alabama. His 13 points in the final 5:40 of the first half against Auburn kept the Gators ahead the rest of the way and allowed them to snap the Tigers’ 14-game winning streak. He has led the Gators’ crucial offensive bursts, and it has all led to the program back in the Final Four and looking to win its third national title. With that trophy on his résumé, Clayton will end the season as a legend in the program — and in NCAA tournament lore.
Up next: vs. Auburn in San Antonio (Saturday, 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS)
Original seed: No. 1 seed (Midwest)
Path to Final Four: Def. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville 78-40; def. No. 8 Gonzaga 81-76; def. No. 4 Purdue 62-60; def. No. 2 Tennessee 69-50
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Seventeen years ago, then-Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson wondered if his time in Bloomington was done. The Hoosiers had just lost on the road at Minnesota, after the NCAA announced five major violations against him and his program, for making phone calls to recruits. His wife held back tears as she sat in the back of the room where the news conference was held as Sampson addressed the reports and rumors that his job was on the line. Days later, he resigned.
It’s nearly unthinkable today to imagine a coach losing his job — or even his career — over phone calls to high school recruits. What happened to Sampson, who was slapped with a five-year show cause and spent the next six years as an NBA assistant while waiting to return to college basketball, would not happen in the NIL era with players now able to make millions.
When Houston hired Sampson in 2014, the program had been to the NCAA tournament only once since 1992. Like Sampson, the Cougars were looking for a shot at redemption. It has been a perfect marriage, yielding three Sweet 16 trips, an Elite Eight appearance and two Final Fours so far. Sampson doesn’t need a national title to punctuate his legacy in the sport. But a national title would put him in a different tier. He’s on the precipice with this season’s team, which held 2-seed Tennessee to 15 points in the first half of their Elite Eight matchup, the lowest tally by a top-2 seed in any half in NCAA tournament history. That’s the potency of America’s top defense, a collection of hungry veterans led by L.J. Cryer who want to add a national title to Sampson’s résumé.
Up next: vs. Duke in San Antonio (Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET, CBS)
Original seed: No. 1 seed (South)
Path to Final Four: Def. No. 16 Alabama State 83-63; def. No. 9 Creighton 82-70; def. No. 5 Michigan 78-65; def. No. 2 Michigan State 70-64
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Through the early stages of the NCAA tournament, coach Bruce Pearl acknowledged his team had lost some of its mojo with a 1-3 stretch. “I would say it’s been the last month or so, where I would say prior to that probably we were just a little sharper,” Pearl said, after the Tigers beat Alabama State in the opening round. “Valuing a possession is making free throws. Valuing a possession is not having a careless turnover. Forced turnovers will happen. Taking shots that we know. That play wasn’t designed for that look, and you know it, and your teammates know it, and yet you do it anyway. So if we can get on the same page a little bit more, and like I said, value that possession, we’ve got a chance.”
Challenge accepted. The Tigers have valued every possession since, and played dominant basketball. They pulled away from Alabama State in the second half. They beat Creighton by double digits. They solved Michigan’s lineup problem of two 7-footers. Two nights later, they took, and kept, a healthy lead over Michigan State — despite Johni Broome exiting at one point in the second half because of an injury.
Broome returned to the game — X-rays on his elbow were negative — which is promising for Auburn. More promising, there continues to be good support for the national player of the year candidate. In particular, Tahaad Pettiford is a future star for the program and Miles Kelly has been another solid veteran who steps up when needed. In San Antonio, the Tigers will have to continue this brand of dominant basketball if they want to win Auburn its first national championship.
Up next: vs. Florida in San Antonio (Saturday, 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS)
