At the beginning of every year, all college basketball teams come in aiming for the same goal — reaching the Final Four and winning a national championship. In years past, March Madness has been recognizable for its crazy upsets, and this year has been more of the same, but not for the reasons fans hoped. 

Heading into the Elite 8, only one number two seed or lower had lost, and this had fans outraged. What happened next made them even more perturbed: All four number one seeds would be traveling to play in the Final Four, for just the second time in the history of the NCAA tournament.

But perhaps what fans failed to realize was that this year’s Final Four, with an abundance of talent on the court, would result in the three best possible games to end the season. 

To start on the West side of the bracket, featuring two SEC teams, Florida and Auburn, despite Auburn being the tournament’s number one overall seed, they came into this game against the Gators as underdogs, uncanny for a team of Auburn’s caliber as the Tigers were the number one overall team all year. A late season resurgence from the Gators bolstered them to an SEC tournament championship and a number one seed, as well as being possibly the toughest out in the tournament, as Florida star Walter Clayton, Jr. had the Gators searching for their third national championship in the last 20 years. 

Auburn came into this game with mighty expectations but also with the pressure of not losing to Florida for a second time. The Gators bested the Tigers on their home court back in February, and a second chance is exactly what the Auburn seniors wanted. 

That was easier said than done, as Florida was peaking at the perfect possible time, taking down the  two-time defending national champs UConn, as well as top-rated teams Maryland and Texas Tech. 

Auburn must have thought this game lasted 30 minutes, because for the first 30 minutes, they dominated. Auburn star Johnni Broome was having his way down low, and Florida seemed to have no answer… until they called Clayton, who was absolutely incredible down the stretch in this game, practically single-handedly willing Florida to the National Championship. 

Clayton finished the game with 34 points as Florida also erased a nine-point second half deficit to win. 

The other side of the bracket featured Houston and Duke, the two hottest teams in the country. Since starting their seasons 4-3 and 4-2, respectively, the two teams combined for a record of 62-3, inconceivable success. Duke came into this game fighting demons from the past, as the historic program hasn’t been to the National Championship since 2015.

Houston was coming from a worse place — in 2015, they weren’t even going .500 in conference. Also, head coach Kelvin Sampson was begging students and fans to come to the games, rock bottom for the Cougars. 

Two words: Duke basketball. Duke’s elite talent was on full display to start this game against Houston. Freshmen stars Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel were doing whatever they wanted versus the Houston team who looked like they had never been on this stage before. Duke used this to bolster themselves to a second-half lead of 12, and they rode that wave to what looked like an easy win, but then Duke got every bit of the Houston basketball experience. 

Two more words: Kelvin Sampson. Two more words: Houston redemption. The Cougars did what they do best late in this game, namely playing phenomenal defense. Duke led this game by six with 30 seconds remaining, but an Emmaunel Sharp three and steal off the inbounds pass saw Duke’s edge vanish. 

Tyreese Proctor went to the line with a chance to put Duke back up, but to no avail. Flagg would foul on the missed FT attempt sending Houston to the line and completing the biggest and best comeback in Final Four history. They advanced to play Florida. 

Special would be a great word to describe this year’s National Championship, but at the same time the word doesn’t do justice to how much this game meant to the sport. In a world of NIL and money-hungry college administrations, two schools that do everything ethically make it the furthest and earn the right to call themselves national champs. 

Houston started this game with one mission: to limit Walter Clayton, Jr. That they did very well. For the first time all tournament, the Gators’ star was held scoreless going into half. Florida was trailing by three to start the second half. 

But something about Florida in the second half is just so uniquely compelling. Todd Golden must have the best halftime speeches in the world, because for the third game in a row the Gators erased a second-half deficit. Will Richard led the Gators in scoring with 18, and everybody contributed down the stretch as Florida came back from down 12 in the second half to win the title. 

Clayton won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player for his heroics, solidifying himself as a March Madness legend and  a surefire NBA first-round draft pick.