Top 25 roundup: Florida takes down Tennessee to win SEC

Field Level Media|published: Sun 16th March, 20:12 2025

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) cuts down his piece of the net as the team celebrates their win over Tennessee after the Southeastern Conference tournament championship at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points and No. 4 Florida outclassed No. 8 Tennessee 86-77 on Sunday to win the Southeastern Conference tournament title at Nashville.

Will Richard added 17 points as the second-seeded Gators (30-4) earned the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Florida was awarded a No. 1 seed when the bracket was revealed later Sunday.

Alex Condon recorded 13 points and nine rebounds, Thomas Haugh tallied 11 points and Alijah Martin had 10 points for the Gators, who won their first SEC tournament title since 2014. Clayton was named tournament MVP.

Jordan Gainey scored a season-best 24 points for fourth-seeded Tennessee (27-7), which landed a No. 2 seed in the NCAA field. Zakai Zeigler added 23 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Volunteers, who lost to the Gators for the second time in three meetings this season.

No. 16 Memphis 84, UAB 72

Dain Dainja registered a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Tigers pulled away from the Blazers to win the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.

PJ Haggerty scored a team-high 23 points for top-seeded Memphis (29-5), which secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Colby Rogers added 15 points.

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead third-seeded UAB (22-12). Efrem Johnson finished with 17 points to go along with six rebounds.

No. 22 Michigan 59, No. 18 Wisconsin 53

Tre Donaldson scored all 11 of his points in the final 8:35 as the Wolverines rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat the Badgers for the Big Ten tournament championship in Indianapolis.

Donaldson gave third-seeded Michigan (25-9) its first lead of the second half when he drilled a 3-pointer with 1:54 to go. Donaldson also handed out eight assists while Vlad Goldin added 11 points for Michigan, which claimed their fourth Big Ten tournament title. Goldin was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

John Blackwell paced fifth-seeded Wisconsin (26-9) with 18 points and Max Klesmit added 12 as the Badgers finished as tournament runners-up for the second year in a row. John Tonje, who scored 32 points in Saturday's upset of top-seeded Michigan State, finished with nine points on 1-for-14 shooting.

--Field Level Media

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