The Final Four is finally here!
Tonight in San Antonio, Auburn and Florida will get things started in an all-SEC battle for a spot in the NCAA Tournament title game. Then, in an incredible matchup in the nightcap, Duke and Houston will play for the other spot in Monday’s championship bout.
We know the stars will be out. Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome are National Player of the Year frontrunners. Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. is a first-team All-American. Houston’s LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp and J’Wan Roberts are fierce on both ends of the floor.
But his article isn’t about those guys. We know what to expect from those elite superstars. I’m more interested in lesser-known guys who could make names for themselves on a national scale this weekend deep in the heart of Texas.
Call them X-factors if you want. Call them sleepers. However you want to label them, these are the guys I’m most intrigued by on each Final Four team (in alphabetical order by team):
Auburn: Tahaad Pettiford
I’m fascinated by Pettiford, who is about as smooth with the ball as it gets. Does that lead to some careless turnovers that look like they make Bruce Pearl want to rip his hair out? Absolutely.
But when you have the natural talent and flow to your game that Pettiford has, you have more room for error than others. Pettiford had 23 points against Creighton in Round 2 and 20 against Michigan in the Sweet 16. His highlight reel against the Wolverines is incredible to watch:
Tahaad Pettiford : 20 points on 7-14 shooting, 2-7 from 3, 4-5 from the FT line & 3 assists in 29 minutes off the bench (3rd 20-point game in his last 8 games) pic.twitter.com/FJMiuJsysN
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) March 29, 2025There’s some Mike Conley in his ball-handling. There’s some James Harden in the way he can knock down step-back shots. There’s some Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his finishing around the rim.
There’s a reason Pettiford has risen into the Round 1 discussion for this year’s NBA Draft. If he has a strong showing against Florida, don’t be shocked if he ends up being a lottery pick before all is said and done.
For now, though, there are more immediate goals to accomplish. If Pettiford plays the way he did against the Bluejays and Wolverines, Auburn will have a great chance to advance to Monday’s title game.
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Duke: Khaman Maluach
No one in Houston’s regular rotation is taller than 6-8. Duke big man Khaman Maluach is listed at 7-2.
Yeah, if there’s one mismatch the Blue Devils should target, it’s that.
Maluach, a native of South Sudan, has only been playing basketball a handful of years, so his offensive game still room to improve. But there’s no denying his talent defensively and as a finisher around the rim offensively. There’s a reason he’s skyrocketing up NBA Draft boards and will likely be a top-10 pick.
Just look at all this raw talent:
I have Khaman Maluach (Malu-Watch) slotted at #5 on my big board. One of the realistic prospects the Spurs should target as he’s the best play finisher at his position. True 7’2 with a 9’8 standing reach. Please keep your Wemby at PF comments to yourself? pic.twitter.com/dd3gmse6NL
— Evan (@Evtowns) April 2, 2025Houston, of course, still has the best defense in the country. The Cougars may not have size, but they do have plenty of length defensively. Joseph Tugler is an elite shot-blocker at his size.
But Maluach is half a foot taller than anyone in Houston’s rotation. If Duke can get him the ball at the rim in position to finish off lobs and dunks, it’ll make life miserable for Kelvin Sampson’s squad.
Florida: Thomas Haugh
Much like Pettiford above, SEC fans are all-too-familiar with Haugh. Heck, my colleague, Connor O’Gara, just wrote a great piece about how Haugh is already a Florida legend.
Haugh is going to be critical to the Gators’ success on Saturday night. Back on Feb. 8 in Auburn, Haugh had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and a steal in only 29 minutes of action.
Haugh and Alex Condon gave Auburn all sorts of problems:
Florida controlled its first matchup vs Auburn and the versatility of Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon was key.Auburn bigs not as comfortable away from basket where Haugh, Condon are threats to shoot, put the ball down, pass. But both also bring toughness, activity inside as well. pic.twitter.com/FzWWWont4m
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) March 31, 2025I think Johni Broome will play well in this game, but based on the way he was holding his arm this week and how he finished the Michigan State game, I just don’t think he’ll be at 100% against the Gators. That’s where Haugh needs to step in and have another of his Swiss Army Knife performances.
Another performance like he had in Neville Arena back in February could be enough for the Gators to take down the Tigers once again and earn a spot in Monday’s championship.
Houston: Milos Uzan
We talked about how Duke has the size advantage in Maluach. If he can get going offensively, it’ll lead to a lot of easy 2s at the rim for the Blue Devils.
But while I’m no expert at math, what I can tell you is that 3 is greater than 2.
Enter Milos Uzan.
"Crafty Dimer" Milos Uzan 6'4 PGComp: Andrew Nembhard/Ty JeromePros (percentile per 40):-Good Playmaker (96th APG)-Good Mid Range (96th MidM)-OK Shooter (66th 3PM, 69th TS%)-Low Usg-High Ast/TO Cons:-Age (3rd Yr)-Below Avg Scorer/Rebounder-Below Avg Def-Plays Below… pic.twitter.com/d8UavYrTry
— DraftCasual (@DraftCasual) April 4, 2025Yes, I’m aware LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp, Uzan’s Houston teammates, score more points per game and attempt more shots from long range while still knocking down just under 42% of their triples each. But Uzan, on a smaller volume, connects from beyond the arc at 44.5% this season.
Duke has talented perimeter defenders, including Tyrese Proctor, to throw at Cryer and Sharp. But if Uzan is able to step up and hit more 3s than normal, the Cougars will have a good chance of advancing to Monday’s title game.
I’m intrigued to see who Proctor spends most of his time guarding. Will Jon Scheyer opt to use him on Uzan, who leads Houston in assists at 4.4 per game? Will he put Proctor on Cryer, the Cougars’ leading scorer?
We’ll find out on Saturday night in San Antonio for what should be an absolutely incredible night of college basketball.
The Final Four action tips off at 6:09 p.m. ET on CBS.
Each Final Four team’s most-intriguing player heading into Saturday’s semifinals Saturday Down South.
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