The end of the 2024-25 college basketball season
By DIEGO CERNA — sports@theaggie.org
Following a very exciting 2024-25 college basketball season, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s and women’s basketball championship games were held on April 6 and 7.
On April 6, the No. 2-seeded University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies faced off against the No. 1-seeded University of South Carolina Gamecocks. The game was a blowout, as the Huskies cruised to their victory with a final score of 82-67. UConn continues to be one of the most dominant and successful teams in college basketball history as they comfortably lead all NCAA Division 1 schools in national championships for women’s basketball with a total of 12 wins.
Paige Buekers has been UConn’s star throughout her collegiate career, finishing the season with a fairytale ending. She was the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings during the draft on April 14.
Buekers held an emotional embrace with Head Coach Geno Auriemma after taking the court for the final time in her career at the end of the fourth quarter. This is Auriemma’s 11th championship with the Huskies, his most recent championship in 2016 with New York Liberty’s star center Breanna Stewart.
UConn’s Azzi Fudd was named the Final Four Outstanding Player, finishing with 24 points, five assists and five rebounds in the championship game.
On April 7, the No. 1-seeded University of Florida Gators faced the No. 1-seeded University of Houston Shastas in the men’s national championship game.
This is the first time four No. 1 seeds faced off in the final four. Houston faced the No. 1-seeded Duke University in the semi-finals and mustered an incredible comeback in the final minutes of the game. Houston, being down by 14 points in the second half of the game, finished on a 9-0 run to end the game.
Florida was also in a tight semifinals game against the No. 1-seeded Auburn University Tigers. Florida’s star fourth-year guard Walter Clayton Jr. played a great game, scoring 30 points.
This was only the second time in NCAA men’s basketball history where all No. 1 seeds ended up making it to the final four, the only other time occurring during March Madness in 2008. This also happened to feature the youngest coach to ever lead in a championship game, Florida’s Todd Golden, and the oldest Head Coach, Kelvin Sampson.
The Shastas took control of the first half, having a six-point lead at halftime. Following halftime, the Shastas pushed their lead to as much as 11, having a 93% chance to win according to ESPN’s game flowchart, with 14 minutes left in the second half. However, the Gators chipped away possession after possession.
Down 65-63, Houston had the ball with the final possession and shot clock off. On a blown possession, Houston guard Emanuel Sharpe raised up for a three-pointer off a screen, but Clayton contested nicely, making Sharpe throw the ball into the ground in a panic. This led the game to end in a loose ball, with neither team getting a shot off.
“You gotta get up a shot,” Sampson said about the final possession at the press conference after the game. “You gotta do better than that.”
This is the Gators’ third basketball championship in university history. The most recent championships came when they were back-to-back champions in the 2006-08 seasons. Those teams were coached by former National Basketball Association players Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights and Boston Celtics’ center Al Horford. They were led by the Bulls’ current Head Coach, Billy Donovan.
Overall, this season proved to be very successful for some teams and players and unsuccessful for others. Hopefully, next year’s season will prove to be even more exhilarating as teams are now set to take some time off before training begins.
Written by: Diego Cerna — sports@theaggie.org
