L.J. Cryer leads the Houston Cougars into the Final Four looking for the program’s first national championship. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The NCAA Final Four starts Saturday at the Alamodome with Florida playing Auburn at 5:09 p.m. and Houston meeting Duke at approximately 7:49 p.m. Here are the teams at a glance:
Florida
Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the West defeated Norfolk State, 95-69; UConn, 77-75; Maryland, 87-71; Texas Tech, 84-79
Record: 34-4
Winning streak: 10
Extended streak: 16-1 in last 17
Coach: Todd Golden, sixth year, 131-69 overall and 74-33 in three years at Florida.
Starters: Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin
Seasoned veteran: Clayton, a first-team Associated Press All American and an All SEC pick, has played 137 games in his college career, including 64 at Iona and 73 at Florida
Most productive player: Clayton averages 18.1 points and shoots 38.5 percent from three.
Top newcomer out of the portal: Alijah Martin has averaged 14.5 points.
Top freshman: Freshmen have had a minimal impact on the Gators. Guard Isaiah Brown from Orlando has played in 19 games.
The journey and the goal: The Gators, in their third season under Golden, started to peak in Nashville a few weeks ago when they won the SEC tournament. Now they’re looking to win their first NCAA title since they went back to back in 2006 and 2007.
Auburn Tigers
Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the South defeated Alabama State, 83-63; Creighton, 82-70; Michigan, 78-65; Michigan State, 70-64.
Record: 32-5
Winning streak: Four
Extended streak: 5-3 in last eight
Coach: Bruce Pearl, 694-269 in 30 seasons, including 232-124 in 11 seasons at Auburn.
Starters: Dylan Cardwell, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelley, Denver Jones.
Most productive player: Forward/center Johni Broome, a first-team AP All American, averages 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. NCAA South Regional MVP after averaging 23.5 points and 15 rebounds in victories over Michigan and Michigan State.
Seasoned veteran: Forward Dylan Cardwell has played in 165 games in five seasons for Auburn.
Top newcomer out of the portal: Guard Denver Jones made the SEC all defense team. He’s scored 51 points in four NCAA games.
Top freshman: Tahaad Pettiford, a 6-1 freshman guard from Jesey City, N.J., averages 11.7 points off the bench. Has scored 69 points in four NCAA games, including 23 against Creighton and 20 against Michigan.
The journey and the goal: Ranked 11th nationally in the preseason, the Tigers won the SEC regular-season crown and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. They’re in their second Final Four after making it in 2019, also under Bruce Pearl. Both the coach and the program have never won the national title, so Pearl will be looking to make history this weekend.
Houston Cougars
Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the Midwest defeated SIU-Edwardsville, 78-40; Gonzaga, 81-76; Purdue, 62-60 and Tennessee 69-50.
Record: 34-4
Streak: Won 17 in a row
Extended streak: 30-1 in last 31
Coach: Kelvin Sampson, 36th year, 798-353; 11th year at Houston, 298-83.
Starters: G Milos Uzan, G L.J. Cryer, G Emanuel Sharp, F J’Wan Roberts, F Joseph Tugler.
Most productive player: L.J. Cryer, a 6-1 guard, made AP third-team All America after leading the Cougars in scoring at 15.4 points per game. He shoots 41.9 percent from three. Cryer played limited minutes as a freshman when the Baylor Bears won the 2020-21 national title.
Seasoned veteran: Forward J’Wan Roberts has played in a school-record 171 games in the last five seasons for the Cougars.
Top newcomer out of the portal: Milos Uzan, a transfer from Oklahoma, has averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 assists. He scored 22 against Purdue in the Sweet 16.
Top freshman: Not much impact from freshmen. Mercy Miller has played only 22 games and has averaged 2.7 points.
The journey and the goal: The Cougars won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament title en route their second Final Four in the last five years (both under Sampson) and their seventh overall. Both Sampson and the Cougars are looking for their first national title.
Duke Blue Devils
Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the East defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 93-49; Baylor, 89-66; Arizona 100-93 and Alabama, 85-65.
Record: 35-3
Streak: Won 15 in a row
Extended streak: 31-1 in last 32
Coach: Jon Scheyer, third year, 89-21, all at Duke.
Starters: G Sion James, G Tyrese Proctor, G/F Kon Knueppel, G/F Cooper Flagg, C Khaman Maluach.
Most productive player: Freshman forward Cooper Flagg averages 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the season. The 18-year-old Associated Press player of the year is averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the NCAA tournament.
Top newcomer out of the portal: Guard Sion James, an offseason transfer from Tulane, shoots 52.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three. He averages 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Top freshman: Other than Flagg, the Blue Devils’ top freshman is guard/forward Kon Knueppel, who averages 14.4 points. He’s a 47.7 percent shooter, including 40.1 percent from three.
The journey and the goal: The Blue Devils won the ACC regular-season and postseason titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the East. After Flagg sat out two games in the ACC tournament with an ankle injury, he returned and led the Blue Devils to their 18th Final Four appearance. Duke is trying to win its first NCAA championship since 2014-15 and its sixth overall.
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, from Newport, Maine, is named Associated Press national player of the year. https://t.co/hyCDEtJChY pic.twitter.com/sktpWyXYCg
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) April 4, 2025