by Kaitlyn Rey

After a long fought battle beginning with 64 teams, the 85th annual March Madness tournament came to an end this Monday (April 7th) with the University of Florida Gators taking the win over the University of Houston Cougars 65-63! Here are the highlights from the final four rounds. 

• University of Florida Gators dominate Maryland Terrapins 87-71 to advance to the elite 8. Florida was the 1st seed with Mayrland not far behind with the 4th seed. This was Florida’s first elite 8 appearance since 2017.
• Duke Blue Devils outlast Arizona Wildcats. 1st seed Duke defeated 4 seed Arizona 100-93. Freshman Cooper Flagg led Duke with 30 pts, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Flagg is expected to be the number 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Duke advanced to the elite 8 for the first time since 2022 after this win.
• 3rd seed Texas Tech beat 10th seed Arkansas 85-83 in an overtime game. This win set Texas Tech’s first arrival to the elite 8 since 2019.
• Houston Cougars beat the Purdue Boilermakers 62-60. This is Houston’s 6th consecutive sweet 16 appearance.
• Florida beat Texas Tech. With Florida being down most of the time, they came back to beat Tech 84-79. This secured their first final four appearance since 2017.
• Duke beat 2nd seed Alabama 85-65. 
• Auburn Tigers won against the Michigan State Spartans 79-73.
• The Gators beat the Tigers 79-73 to advance to the national championship. Walter Clayton Jr led the Gators with 34 points. 
• The Cougars beat the Blue Devils 70-67 with Houston being down most of the game. 
• The Gators clinched their 3rd national title in the championship game. In a close, back and forth game Florida defeated Houston 65-64. Walter Clayton Jr was named MVP after this game.