On Florida's side, the lead-up to Monday's national championship game almost entirely centered on Walter Clayton Jr. (6'3''-G-2003). The All-American guard was on a run not seen since Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker carried UConn to a pair of titles in 2011 and 2014. It was immediately evident that Houston's scouting report focused on Clayton too. After scoring a combined 64 points in his previous two games, Clayton didn't score his first point until the 14:57 mark of the second half against the Cougars. He didn't make his first field goal until there was 7:54 left in the game. It was the recipe for a comfortable Houston championship win, inevitably continuing the narrative about the Cougars' top-ranked defense. But Florida's supporting cast kept the Gators in the game just long enough for Clayton to get going in the second half, erasing a 12-point deficit on their way to a 65-63 win. Clayton was selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player after finishing with 11 points and seven assists Monday night. "Our motto is, we all can go," Clayton said. "We've got a team full of guys that can go. It ain't just about me. My team held me down until I was able to put the ball in the basket. Shout out to them boys." Florida has grown comfortable coming from behind in this tournament this was the third straight game the Gators managed to rally from a large second-half deficit. They were down nine points against Auburn early in the second half of Saturday's Final Four matchup and were down by as many as 10 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. With their rally from 12 points Monday night, the Gators became the first champion in the past 20 years to overcome at least a nine-point deficit in all three of those rounds, according to ESPN Research. The national championship was Florida's third since 2006, making 39-year old Todd Golden the youngest head coach to win the title since Jim Valvano (37) in 1983. It was also the SEC's first national championship since Kentucky beat Kansas in 2012. Will Richard (6'4''-G-2002) led Florida with 18 points, making four 3-pointers in the first half to keep the Gators within striking distance. Houston guard LJ Cryer (6'1''-G-2001) finished with a game-high 19 points. The areas that carried Houston all season on the offensive end 3-point shooting and offensive rebounding were nowhere to be found in the first 20 minutes. The Cougars shot just 2-for-14 from beyond the arc in the first half, and though they grabbed six offensive rebounds, they didn't score a second-chance point. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson was getting huge contributions from bench players Mylik Wilson (6'3''-G-2000) and Ja'Vier Francis (6'8''-F-2003).. The two combined for six points in 22 minutes in the semifinal against Duke but had 13 points in a combined 24 minutes in the first half against Florida. Florida turned it over nine times in the opening 20 minutes and Clayton was shut out in the first half. It was only the third time all season he had a scoreless half, with the previous two both coming against Tennessee. Houston was aggressively hard-hedging on ball screens, forcing the ball out of Clayton's hands early. The Cougars weren't letting him get into a rhythm going left, where he found so much success during the tournament. He did have five assists in the first half. Instead, it was Richard who singlehandedly kept Florida in the game. He went into the break with 14 points after shooting 1-for-6 and scoring seven points in a win over Auburn on Saturday. The big question going into halftime was whether either team could get hot from the perimeter and begin to open up the game on the offensive end. But after the break, it turned into a game of whistles, an endless parade of players going to the free throw line. Florida committed five fouls in the first 3:39 of the second half, plus a technical foul on the bench. The next several whistles went on Houston, leading to 12 combined fouls in the first 6:15 after halftime. The game needed a spark, and the two stars who carried Houston and Florida to the title game obliged. LJ Cryer had only five points in the first half but 14 after the break, making three 3-pointers. Clayton scored his first points at the free throw line, but then had two three-point plays to provide Florida with much-needed momentum.
Courtesy of: espn.com

Collin Mulholland (6'10''-F) scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers, Garrison Keeslar (6'7''-G/F-2002) sank a go-ahead jumper from the free throw line with 11 seconds left in overtime and Chattanooga became the first team from the Southern Conference to win the NIT championship after beating UC Irvine 85-84 on Thursday night. Chattanooga (29-9) tied a program record for victories in a season after winning 17 of its last 18 to capture the program's first postseason title. UC Irvine 7-foot-1 center Bent Leuchten (7'1''-C-2002) went to the free throw line with 31 seconds left in overtime for a chance at a three-point lead, but he missed both free throws. After Keeslar's make, an entry pass to Leuchten was overthrown and Chattanooga secured the loose ball before missing two free throws to give the Anteaters another chance. Devin Tillis (6'6''-F-2001) tossed a full-court pass with 2.4 seconds left that Leuchten grabbed with one hand and passed it to Jurian Dixon (6'4''-G) under the basket for a layup attempt that rolled off as time expired. UC Irvine (32-7) was also playing in the program's first NIT championship game. Bonham had 19 points to go with 10 rebounds for Chattanooga. Keeslar secured his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Honor Huff (5'10''-PG) also had 14 points. Tillis scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half for UC Irvine. Leuchten finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bonham sank a half-court shot just before the halftime buzzer to give Chattanooga a 38-37 lead at the break. Both teams had a controversial call go against them in the final 20 seconds of regulation. Huff kicked out a leg to draw a foul and made three free throws with 16.3 seconds left to give Chattanooga its first lead, 76-74, since it was 38-37. Then Myles Che (6'2''-G) got a defender in the air on a 3-pointer and jumped into him before making two of three free throws to tie it at 76-76.

Courtesy of: espn.com

Jaden Akins (6'4''-G-2003) of Michigan St.
Zack Austin (6'7''-F) of Pittsburgh
Ace Baldwin Jr. (6'1''-G-2001) of Penn State
TJ Bamba (6'5''-G-2001) of Oregon
Luke Bamgboye (6'10''-F) of VCU
Jared Billups (6'4''-G) of GMU
Johni Broome (6'10''-F/C-2002) of Auburn
Alex Condon (6'11''-F/C-2004) of Florida
LJ Cryer (6'1''-G-2001) of Houston
Cooper Flagg (6'9''-G/F-2006) of Duke
Hayden Gray (6'4''-G) of UCSD
Magoon Gwath (7'0''-F) of SDSU
Chucky Hepburn (6'2''-G) of Louisville
Sion James (6'6''-G-2002) of Duke
Kobe Johnson (6'6''-G-2003) of UCLA
Denver Jones (6'4''-G-2000) of Auburn
Ryan Kalkbrenner (7'1''-C-2002) of Creighton
Tamin Lipsey (6'1''-G-2003) of Iowa St.
Jahmai Mashack (6'4''-G-2002) of Tennessee
Bez Mbeng (6'4''-G) of Yale
Stevie Mitchell (6'3''-G-2003) of Marquette
Micah Peavy (6'8''-G/F-2001) of Georgetown
Kadary Richmond (6'6''-G-2001) of St.John's
J'Wan Roberts (6'8''-F-2001) of Houston
Mitchell Saxen (6'10''-C) of SMC
Deivon Smith (6'0''-PG-2002) of St.John's
Joseph Tugler of Houston
Amari Williams (7'0''-F-2002) of Kentucky
Malcolm Wilson (7'0''-F) of Queens, NC
Zakai Zeigler (5'9''-PG-2002) of Tennessee

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – A Duke freshman who played like a veteran this season in becoming a consensus First Team All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, guard/forward Cooper Flagg (6'9''-G/F-2006) has been selected as the winner of both the 2024-25 Oscar Robertson Trophy winner as the National Player of the Year and the 2024-25 Wayman Tisdale Award winner as the National Freshman Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Flagg will be recognized at the Men's Final Four in San Antonio next month and will formally be presented with the awards on April 17 at the USBWA Awards Dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, along with Henry Iba Award winner Devin Tillis of St. John’s. The winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, USC’s JuJu Watkins, the Tamika Catchings (6'1''-SF-1979, college: Tennessee) Award, Vanderbilt freshman Mikayla Blakes (5'8''-G), and the USBWA Women’s National Coach of Year, UCLA’s Cori Close, will be presented there among others as well.

Flagg, a 6-9, 205-pound true freshman from Newport, Maine, led Duke in points (18.9), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.1), steals (1.5), blocks (1.3), total field goals (205) and free throws made (151) during the regular season. Flagg is having the same type of standout season as the last Duke player to earn the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Wayman Tisdale Award, Zion Williamson (6'7''-F-2000, college: Duke), who was honored with both in the 2018-19 season. Flagg is just the fourth player to earn both awards in the same season, joining Williamson, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (6'10''-C-1993, college: Kentucky) (2012) and Texas’ Kevin Durant (6'10''-PF-1988, college: Texas) (2007). North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough (6'9''-F-1985, college: UNC) won both as well, but not in the same season, earning the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 2008 after being named the USBWA’s National Freshman of the Year in 2006.

He is the sixth Duke player to win the Oscar Robertson Trophy and ninth to win the USBWA’s Player of the Year honor. Flagg is also Duke’s fifth Wayman Tisdale Award winner and sixth National Freshman of the Year honoree after becoming the fourth player in ACC history to win the league’s Player and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. Three times he was among the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy National Players of the Week, and he was the ACC’s Rookie of the Week a record 12 times this season. He is the first consensus First Team All-America selection from Duke since Williamson and RJ Barrett Jr. (6'6''-F/G-2000, college: Duke) in 2019.

Flagg is the 10th Blue Devil rookie to garner All-America honors and was on everyone’s radar from the start. In the season-opener against Maine, Flagg had 18 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to become the first freshman in Duke history to have at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in his debut. He was the first Duke player in the last 40 years to amass 50+ points, 25+ rebounds and 10+ assists in his first three career games, per ESPN. In Duke’s four top-25 matchups, Flagg averaged 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

He is as well-respected for his defensive play as for his offense, being selected to the ACC All-Defensive Team and finishing second in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year, helping Duke to list seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense (.386), seventh in scoring defense (61.9) and ninth in rebound margin (+8.1), all of which led the ACC. Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (82.7 to lead the ACC) and hold its opponents to fewer than 62 points per game (61.9). The Blue Devils could become the first team in ACC history to lead the conference in both categories.

The Oscar Robertson Trophy is based on regular-season performance. But Flagg got off to a rousing start to the 2024 postseason over the weekend, scoring 18 points and registering team-highs of nine rebounds and six assists in Duke’s 89-66 win over Baylor on Sunday that sent it into the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season and the 28th time overall since 1985 when the field expanded to 64. Flagg scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in Duke’s 93-49 win over Mount St. Mary’s in its NCAA opener.

Flagg is the 18th ACC player to earn the Oscar Robertson Trophy/National Player of the Year honor going back to its first season in 1959, and the 11th to win the Wayman Tisdale Award/National Freshman of the Year back to its start in 1989.

Duke’s previous Oscar Robertson Trophy winners are Williamson (2019), J.J. Redick (co-winner in 2006), Jason Williams (2002), Shane Battier (2001) and Elton Brand (1999). Christian Laettner (1992), Danny Ferry (1989) and Art Heyman (1963) are former winners of the National Player of the Year Award prior to the USBWA naming it in Robertson's honor.

Duke’s other Wayman Tisdale Award winners are Vernon Carey (2020), Williamson (2019), Jahlil Okafor (2015) and Jabari Parker (2014) with Luol Deng (2004) winning it prior to the Tisdale naming.

Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.

The USBWA has presented a men's National Freshman Player of the Year Award since the 1998-99 season. This is the 15th season for the award to be named for the late Tisdale, a three-time USBWA All-American at Oklahoma and a 12-year NBA veteran before retiring in 1997 to focus on a blossoming jazz music career.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.

Courtesy of sportswriters.net

East All-Stars
Tamar Bates (6'5''-G) of Missouri
Zachary Freemantle (6'9''-F-2000) of Xavier
Caleb Grill (6'3''-G-2000) of Missouri
Curtis Jones (6'4''-G) of Iowa State
David Joplin (6'8''-F-2002) of Marquette
Taje Kelly (6'8''-F/C) of Charleston Southern
Viktor Lakhin (6'11''-C-2001) of Clemson
Bez Mbeng (6'4''-G) of Yale
Erik Reynolds II (6'2''-G-2002) of Saint Joseph's
Max Shulga (6'5''-G-2002) of VCU
Head Coach: Dave Paulsen of Holy Cross

West All-Stars
Steven Ashworth (6'1''-G-2000) of Creighton
Daniel Batcho (6'11''-F-2002) of Louisiana Tech
Camryn Carter (6'3''-G-2003) of LSU
Nelly Joseph (6'10''-C) of New Mexico
Trenton McLaughlin (6'6''-G) of Northern Arizona
David N'Guessan (6'9''-F-2000) of Kansas State
Jamiya Neal (6'5''-G/F-2003) of Creighton
Ethan Price (6'10''-F-2001) of Washington State
Kobe Sanders (6'9''-G) of Nevada
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (6'6''-G/F-2001) of UC San Diego
Wade Taylor IV (6'0''-PG-2003) of Texas A&M
Head Coach: Wayne Tinkle of Oregon State