Walter Clayton Jr. rescued top-seeded Florida with two late 3-pointers, and the Gators rallied from nine points down late to reach the Final Four with an 84-79 victory over Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region final. The Gators trailed 75-66 with less than three minutes to play before staging a furious rally against the third-seeded Red Raiders, who had done the same in the Sweet 16 against Arkansas. Clayton dribbled out of the paint and hit a fadeaway 3 with 59 seconds left to give Florida a 78-77 lead, and the Gators held on from there.
Duke’s stream of NBA-ready standouts used smothering defense and other options on offense to paper over Cooper Flagg’s rough shooting night and lift the Blue Devils to the program’s 18th Final Four with an 85-65 victory over Alabama. Flagg made only six of 16 shots, including a brick that got stuck in the flange of the rim, but still finished with 16 points. Kon Knueppel, another potential lottery pick, led the Blue Devils with 21 points. Alabama failed to crack 70 points for only the second time this season. Duke will play the winner of Sunday's game between Tennessee and Houston next week in the Final Four.