ESPN’s Seth Greenberg summed up Walter Clayton Jr.’s postseason run the best.
“He’s on a Kemba Walker type run. I mean, that’s it,” Greenberg said on Get Up!
Walker immortalized his collegiate career with an elite postseason run in 2011. After UConn finished ninth in the Big East, the Huskies rattled off five wins in five days to win the Big East Tournament, including when Walker hit his iconic ankle-breaking buzzer beater against Pittsburgh in the quarterfinal game.
In the NCAA Tournament, Walker continued his scoring tear, opening the tournament with a 18-point, 12-assist double-double in a rout against Bucknell. He then followed it up with back-to-back 30-point performances against Cincinnati and San Diego State before dropping 20 against Arizona to advance to the Final Four.
Then against a Kentucky team boasting six NBA players, Walker scored 18 points before grinding past Butler in the National Championship game.
But after Saturday afternoon, Walter Clayton Jr.’s run may be in a league of his own.
Having previously carried Florida to victories against UConn and Texas Tech, Clayton saved his best for the Final Four.
Clayton dropped 34 points to defeat the Auburn Tigers 79-73, bringing the Gators to their first National Championship game since 2007.
Chad Baker-Mazara led the Tigers with 18 points and four steals. Johni Broome added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Denver Jones finished with 10 points.
After a tightly-contested first-half that saw nine lead changes, the Tigers pulled away in the final minutes of the opening frame.
After Clayton made a layup with under four minutes to play in the half, Auburn closed out the half on a 13-9 run to take an eight-point advantage into the half.
SLAM cover star Tahaad Pettiford—who recently declared for the NBA Draft—made three free throws, while Broome added two post shots to pad the Auburn lead. A Miles Kelly triple gave Auburn a nine-point lead, its biggest advantage of the half.
Into the second half, Florida came out the gates hot. The Gators took the lead after going on a 13-3 run behind an and-one from Will Richard and two triples from Clayton and Martin.
After both teams traded blows and underwent seven lead changes,. Clayton took over in the final four minutes.
With time running out, Clayton threw an inbound pass to Haugh, who threw up a hook shot after being fouled from behind by Broome. The ball caromed around on the rim before falling for a dagger and-one.
After Haugh missed the free throw, Baker-Mazara responded with a triple to cut the deficit to five with 32 seconds remaining. Florida converted on enough free throws to keep a two-possession lead and eventually closed the game out.
Fittingly, Clayton sunk the final two free throws to ice the game.
Timely shooting from beyond the arc was the difference-maker for the Gators, who shot 38.1% from beyond the arc and an efficient 47.2% from the floor. Auburn made seven triples, but at a lower 28% clip.
Clayton is almost a shoo-in for the Most Outstanding Player award. Clayton is averaging 24.6 points per game and is shooting 48.7% from beyond the arc for the tournament. He has put up back-to-back 30-point games and has scored in double-figures in all five rounds.
All he needs now is a ring to place his NCAA Tournament run in the same realm as Kemba Walker’s 2011 masterclass.
Clayton and Florida will now have the chance to do so after advancing to their first National Championship game since 2007 against the Houston Cougars.