SAN ANTONIO — Whenever things begin to fall apart, Florida turns to its star.
And it’s in those moments when the best version of Walter Clayton Jr. shows up.
It happened again on Saturday, as Clayton took it upon himself — again — to ruin Auburn’s dreams and send the No. 1 overall seed Tigers home. The Associated Press first team All-American scored 34 points in the 79-73 Final Four win. A late 3-point play — a bucket and a free throw off a driving layup — sealed the win for a determined Florida squad.
On Feb. 8, Clayton scored 19 points and made 50 percent of his 3-point attempts in a 90-81 road victory over Auburn. On Saturday, he was even better.
With the performance, Clayton became the first player with back-to-back 30-point games in the Elite Eight and national semifinals since Larry Bird in 1979, according to ESPN Research.
“We’re just all together, on the court and off the court,” Clayton said.
Earlier this week, Alijah Martin said Clayton’s gift is that he never seems to panic in the diciest moments.
“He’s always calm,” Martin said this week. “He’s just calm.”
During the NCAA tournament, Florida has found itself with its back against the wall several times — against UConn, Maryland, Texas Tech and, on Saturday, Auburn.
Down by nine points early in the second half, the Gators turned to their hero, who extended his postseason display of backbreaking shots as he led Florida out of another hole. The Gators now advance to the program’s first national title game since 2007, when the they won back-to-back championships.
Martin, the Robin to Clayton’s Batman all year and a Final Four participant with Florida Atlantic in 2023, had a series of SportsCenter-worthy plays that ignited the Florida fans in the Alamodome in the second half. His contribution (17 points) can’t be overlooked. But Saturday — and the whole NCAA tournament, really — belonged to Clayton.
In the first half, seven Auburn players, including All-American Johni Broome, had scored at least four points and the Tigers took an eight-point lead into the break. Early in the second half, the Gators were down by as much as nine points. But after a flurry of plays– the kind they always seem to execute with their backs against the wall — the Gators had tied the game.
“Auburn had us on our heels in the first half but we came out with a great start and we didn’t look back,” said 39-year-old Florida coach Todd Golden, who joined Pearl’s first staff at Auburn in 2014.
Broome, who was dealing with a lingering elbow injury, finished with 15 points but only had three after halftime. Even before the final buzzer sounded, the Wooden Award runner-up was hunched over and then was surrounded by cameras to capture his reaction. He eventually stood up to shake hands, then walked off the court with his eyes red from crying — pulling up his jersey to wipe his face as cameras continued to follow his exit.
It turned out to be that kind of night for Auburn. Bruce Pearl’s nightmare had come true.
“Clayton has been the best guard on the floor every single night,” Pearl said on Friday. “Clayton can’t be the best guard on the floor tomorrow.”
But he was.
The final outcome was not a mystery once Clayton became extraordinary in the second half again.
In San Antonio, Florida had Walter Clayton Jr.
Auburn did not.
