Florida Makes History With Big Final Four Comeback Win Over Auburn

Ryan Phillips | Apr 5, 2025

Florida Gators forward Sam Alexis and center Micah Handlogten celebrate after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

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The Florida Gators are back in the national championship game for the first time since 2007, and they made history along the way.

The Gators trailed Auburn 46-38 at the break but stormed back in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 41-21 over the final 20 minutes to take home a 79-73 victory. In doing so, Florida became the first team to trail by eight or more points at halftime and win by five or more in the Final Four since 2001.

Florida just became the first team to trail by 8+ at halftime and win by 5+ points in the Final Four since Duke beat Maryland in 2001.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 6, 2025

In that game, the Blue Devils trailed Maryland 49-38 at halftime but scored an incredible 57 points in the second half to win 95-84. Shane Battier (25 points), Jay Williams (23 points), and Carlos Boozer (19 points) led the way for Duke in that comeback victory.

In what should come as welcome news to the Gators, Duke went on to win the national championship after its big comeback in 2001. The Blue Devils beat Arizona 82-72 in the title game.

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Published Apr 5, 2025

RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.