NCAA Western Regional Final Box Score Co-MVGs: Thomas Haugh & Walter Clayton Jr

Co-MVGs: Super Sophomore Thomas Haugh and consensus All-America and NCAA Western Regional Most Outstanding Player, Walter Clayton Jr were head and shoulders the best players on the court and their heroics willed the Gators to an improbable 84-79 NCAA Western Regional Final victory over the incredibly hard-nose, scrappy Texas Tech Red Raiders. Walter Clayton scored 30 points and had 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks for 120 Value Credits. Thomas Haugh scored a career high 20 points with 11 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal for another triple digit Value Score of 115. No other Gator had more the 50 Value Credits.

Comeback for the Ages: Wow! Wow! Wow! Florida was down by 9 points (66-75) with just under 3 minutes left to play when they went on an improbable 18-4 run to close out the game for a come-from-behind victory. Walter Clayton Jr put on his superman cape, scoring 10 points in the last 3:35 of the game. He scored driving to the hoop for buckets or getting fouled (14-15 at the stripe) and hitting contested 3-pt shots despite a Red Raider defense laser focused on his every move. Tommy Haugh called Clayton Jr 's late game heroics cold-blooded, but he was no less clutch in hitting 4-6 3-pointers and seemingly grabbed every loose ball at the end of the game. The 18-4 run was against a team that themselves had a 16-3 run to come from behind in their Sweet-16 win against Arkansas. Both the Gators and Red Raiders were very tough-minded, hard-nosed teams, but in this game, it was the Florida Gators who showed the greater fortitude by taking victory out from the jaws-of-defeat to earn a trip to the Final Four as 2025 NCAA Western Regional Champions.

Key Game Stat - Free Throws:. Gators 25-27..Red Raiders 7-13 . Texas Tech could have closed out the game with a victory but missed 2 front ends of one-and-ones in the last 2 minutes of the game that were rebounded by the Gators. The Gators meanwhile made their free throws and that was a major determining factor in the outcome of the game.

Box Score Value Leaders
Clayton Jrcil.120
Haughlllll. ...115

Click on thumbnail below for all Value Scores.

Value Credits* are assigned as follows:
+5 credits for each Steal and Assist
+4 credits for each Point scored, Rebound and Block
.-5 credits for each Turnover
.-1.5 credits for each Field Goal Attempt
.-0.75 credit for each Free Throw Attempt
* Value Credits are based solely on Box Score data and do not reflect total game contributions by players

Texas Tech:........Western Regional Final Box Score
Post Game:.........ESPN Video Highlights
The Gators play Auburn in the NCAA Tournament Semi-Finals in San Antonio on April 5th at 6:09PM PM (CBS).

 

I was very late in posting MVG results because I assumed that with six minutes left in the game, the Gator's NCAA Tournament journey had come to an end. Below was the obituary I drafted before I went to see the final box score. OMG! What happened! Then I went to watch the last six minutes and how the Gators flipped the script. At the six-minute mark, Thomas Haugh was the clear MVG and it was before Walter Clayton Jr took over the last three minutes of the ball game. I'm glad I got it wrong and had to re-write the whole narrative.

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NCAA Western Regional Final Box Score MVG: Thomas Haugh

MVG: The Gators end a terrific season with a disappointing NCAA Western Regional loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders xx-yy. Leading the Gators in this game was once again super Sophomore Thomas Haugh who scored xx points, pulling down yy rebounds with zz assists with 1 steal and one block for ww Value Credits. Walter Clayton Jr finished off a fabulous season for the Gators with xx points, xx boards, zz assists and y blocks for a Value Score of nn.

Key Team Stats: Despite the height disadvantage, the Red Raiders played the Gators even on the boards and were very effective in defending the Gators passing game inside the paint. The Gators continued to turn over the ball (xx TOs) that caught up with them against a more disciplined team. Florida guards also did not shoot well from the 3-point line (3-15) that contributed to the loss. (Gators were shooting 20% from the 3-pt line at the time I wrote this with six minutes left in the game, before they hit several at the very end.)

The Red Raiders were undersized compared to the Gators but fought hard for every rebound and played the Gators even the boards (uu-YY). That toughness also showed up as they were very effective in defending the Gators passing game inside and shooting the paint. The Gators helped out the Red Raider with their continued high rate of turnovers (xx TOs) that finally caught up with them against a more disciplined team. When the Florida guards miss several 3pt attempts combined with fewer offensive rebounds allowed Texas Tech to take and extend their lead 10 points late in the 2nd half. While the Gators fought hard and were able to close the gap, it was not enough as sadly, the Florida Gators 2025 NCAA journey comes to end in the Western Regional Finals.

 

Yes and corrected. Gives Clayton Jr 120 Value Credits but I still believe Tommy and Walter share Co-MVG honors for the Western Regional Final. Walter Clayton Jr was recognized as the Western Regional Most Outstanding Player (MOP). That goes nicely in his trophy case along with his 2025 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player Award.