This year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament was special. It was the first year since 2008 that all number 1 seeds made the Final Four, which resulted in some great games that capped off an otherwise lackluster tournament. Some of the best teams that the NCAA has ever seen went head to head, and the games did not disappoint. 

The first Final Four game was between the Florida Gators and the Auburn Tigers, both from the Southeastern Conference. In my opinion, Florida had the edge heading into the game, but Auburn was the aggressor going into halftime with an eight point lead. I still had faith that Florida could win, and they delivered. Florida was able to close the gap with Walter Clayton Jr. leading the way, and Florida ended up winning 79-73.

The second Final Four game was between the Houston Cougars and the Duke Blue Devils. Coming into this game, Duke was the favorite, and I was confident that no team could beat them. For the first 30 minutes of the game, my prediction was true. Duke had a double digit lead for most of the second half, but then went cold, scoring only 1 point in seven minutes. This defensive stand from Houston was one of the most impressive I have ever seen, since Duke had the best offense in the regular season. I still felt like Duke was in the driver’s seat, but Houston proved me wrong. They forced Duke to turn the ball over multiple times, took the lead off of free throws, and hung on to win 70-67.

Both of the Final Four games were incredible, which led to a classic National Championship. Houston and Florida started off very slow, with Houston having the advantage for most of the game. They got a 12-point lead before Florida started to chip away. I never thought Florida was in the game – that was until Walter Clayton Jr. turned into the best player on the court, and carried the Gators to the lead. Houston had the opportunity to take a last shot to win, but they could not get it off, leading to Florida winning it all.

The final games of the tournament were incredible and everything that I would want in an event like this. The moment that stood out to me the most, was the last 30 seconds of the Duke-Houston game. Overall, the games delivered on every level, giving me some of my favorite college basketball moments of all time.