The Florida Gators are moving on to the title game! In a back-and-forth showdown with the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night, the team in blue was able to come away with a thrilling 79-73 victory. As most of you already know, it was Walter Clayton Jr. who powered his side to the memorable win.
Clayton was on fire in this one, scoring a game-high 34 points. A lot of people thought it was going to be the Johni Broome show, but instead it was indeed Clayton who looked downright fantastic. Whenever the Gators needed him to bury a big-time shot, he answered the call. He also couldn't have been more humble during his postgame interview with Tracy Wolfson:
“Man, I just got a bunch of guys around me that trust me,” Clayton said. “I say it all the time. Those guys trust me to take those shots and some nights they fall and tonight was one of those nights.”
Walter Clayton Jr. was nothing short of brilliant in the Florida win over Auburn
Come on, you've got to love that kid's mentality. He put together one of the best performances in program history and the first thing on his mind was to give his teammates credit for having so much trust in him? That's just unreal.
Clayton isn't wrong, though. Whenever he has the ball in his hands, the guys around him are quite confident that he'll be able to step up and find the bottom of the cotton with a timely bucket. He's been unreal this year and there's still one more contest to go.
Come Monday night, the Gators will be ready to take on either Duke or Houston. Regardless of who wins that other semifinal, Florida will need to be at its best to win the title. Clayton knows what's at stake and he'll be ready to put this team on his back one last time. What a player.