Will Richard and top-seeded Florida run away from Maryland's 'Crab Five' for 87-71 March Madness win

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Florida's three standout seniors and its deep bench kept bringing energy until it became too tough for Maryland's “Crab Five” to keep up.

Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down.

Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, and No. 1 seed Florida played a steady second half to run away from fourth-seeded Maryland and into the NCAA Tournament's West Region final with an 87-71 win Thursday night.

Walter Clayton Jr. contributed 13 points and four assists as Florida's senior leaders and their deep supporting cast took down Maryland's hardworking starters — one of Terrapins coach Kevin Willard's concerns coming into this matchup.

“We come in with great energy," said Florida reserve Denzel Aberdeen, who scored 12 points in 19 minutes. “Just everybody being ready, whoever’s name is called, I think that’s what we did.”

Freshman sensation Derik Queen scored 27 points to lead Maryland (27-9) in what might have been Willard’s final game guiding the program.

“I think their bench really wore us down,” Willard said.

Florida (33-4) advances to play Saturday against third-seeded Texas Tech, which rallied past Arkansas in overtime in Thursday's late game at Chase Center.

The Gators, in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and seeking the program's first Final Four berth since 2014, committed 13 of their 17 turnovers in the first half but took better care of the ball over the final 20 minutes. Florida already eliminated two-time defending NCAA champion UConn in the second round and is 10-1 in regional semifinals.

"The message was simple: We have to take care of the ball," Golden, the Gators' third-year coach, said.

The “Crab Five” — featuring WNBA star Angel Reese’s brother Julian, who had his sister in the stands to cheer — roared back in the first half when it seemed Florida might pull away. Queen, who hit a buzzer-beater in a 72-71 victory Sunday over Colorado State in the second round, shot 8 for 17 and made all 10 of his free throws.

Clayton, Martin and Richard combined for 42 points and three others scored in double figures for Florida. The senior trio had scored 56 of the Gators’ 77 points in the two-point victory against UConn last Sunday. That sent coach Golden back to the Bay Area, where he played for Saint Mary’s and coached at the University of San Francisco before taking the Florida job.

Now, they get to extend their stay into the weekend.

“It’s surreal, to be honest. The thing that I keep kind of going back to, selfishly, personally, I just don’t want it to end,” Golden said. “We have a uniquely tight group. ... It’s been an amazing run.”

Willard’s future was unclear as he has been linked to the Villanova job and also publicly expressed concerns last week with the direction of the Terrapins program, calling for “fundamental changes.”

Fans booed the coach as the team departed its hotel earlier in the day.

Golden had described the Terrapins as “freaky talented” coming into the game.

Willard had compared Clayton to Stephen Curry when it comes to shooting off the dribble.

Clayton had been 22 for 43 from 3-point range — 51.2% — over his five postseason tournament games coming in. He wound up 2 of 6 from deep.

Maryland: The Terrapins were outrebounded 5-1 early before Reese’s offensive rebound, putback and three-point play at the 15:21 mark of the first half — and Maryland forced 10 turnovers over the opening 13:30 to get back in the game.

Florida: The Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Gators used their depth to generate a 29-3 advantage in bench points, with Maryland getting its first bench point with 1:15 to play. ... Sophomore forward-center Alex Condon limped off to the locker room with an injury to his troublesome right ankle at the 12:16 mark of the first half and underwent a precautionary X-ray, then returned with 13:29 left.

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Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) shoots against Maryland guard Selton Miguel, center, and forward Julian Reese (10) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Maryland guard DeShawn Harris-Smith (5) passes during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Florida, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida head coach Todd Golden reacts from the sideline during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Maryland, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Florida guard Will Richard (5) shoots against Maryland guard DeShawn Harris-Smith, left, during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida guard Will Richard shoots during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Maryland, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida guard Will Richard (5) shoots against Maryland guard DeShawn Harris-Smith during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Maryland center Derik Queen (25) and forward Julian Reese (10) reach for a rebound during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament game against Florida, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Maryland forward Julian Reese, center left, and Florida forward Thomas Haugh (10) reach for a rebound during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Maryland center Derik Queen (25) and Florida guard Will Richard (5) reach for a rebound during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) defends against Maryland guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Florida guard Bennett Andersen (22) hugs forward Alex Condon after they won the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament game against Maryland, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida players react on the bench during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Maryland, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Florida guard Will Richard (5) shoots against Maryland forward Jordan Geronimo (22) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Florida players react on the bench during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Maryland, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

President Donald Trump said “I’m not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication he's considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029. “There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said in a telephone interview Sunday with NBC News from Mar-a-Lago, his private club.

The 22nd Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, says “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Here's the latest:

Calls from the U.S. to Roustan Hockey headquarters in Canada in recent weeks have been anything but routine, as bulk orders of name-brand sticks have suddenly become complicated conversations.

“These customers want to know: When their orders ship, will they have to pay an additional 25% tariff? And we respond by saying, ’Well, right now we don’t know, so they postpone their order or cancel their order because they want to know before they order what the cost is going to be,” said Graeme Roustan, who owns the company that makes and sells more than 100,000 hockey sticks annually to the U.S. market.

The prospect of 25% tariffs by Trump on Canadian imports, currently paused for some goods but facing full implementation Wednesday, has caused headaches if not havoc throughout the commercial ecosystem. The sports equipment industry is certainly no exception, with so many of the products manufactured for sports -loving Americans outside the U.S.

▶ Read more about the effects of possible tariffs on the price of sporting goods

U.S. immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from Trump.

The March 5 notice raised alarms from immigration and free speech advocates because it appears to expand the government’s reach in social media surveillance to people already vetted and in the U.S. legally, such as asylum seekers, green card and citizenship applicants – and not just those applying to enter the country. That said, social media monitoring by immigration officials has been a practice for over a decade, since at least the second Obama administration and ramping up under Trump’s first term.

▶ Read more about what the new proposal means and how it might expand social media surveillance

Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.”

Musk and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million to help conservative favorite Brad Schimel in Tuesday’s race, which will determine the ideological makeup of a court likely to decide key issues in a perennial battleground state.

A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, a ruling that came just minutes before the planned start of the rally.

Two lower courts had already rejected the legal challenge by Democrat Josh Kaul, who argues that Musk’s offer violates a state law.

▶ Read more about Musk in Wisconsin

The group of Democrats, most of whom serve as their state’s top election official, is telling Congress the legislative proposal to add a proof of citizenship requirement when registering to vote could disenfranchise voters and upend election administration.

On Monday, the House Rules Committee is expected to consider the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. The letter signed by 15 secretaries of state was sent Friday.

Voting by noncitizens is rare, but Republicans say any instances undermine public confidence. Last week, President Trump directed, among other things, an update to the federal voter registration form to require proof of citizenship. Legal challenges are expected.

In the letter, Democrats say it’s the “job of election officials to verify the eligibility of citizens to cast a ballot, not the job of citizens to convince the government that they are eligible to exercise their right to vote.”

Trump says Wednesday will be “Liberation Day” — a moment when he plans to roll out a set of tariffs that he promises will free the United States from foreign goods.

The details of Trump’s next round of import taxes are still sketchy. Most economic analyses say average U.S. families would have to absorb the cost of his tariffs in the form of higher prices and lower incomes. But an undeterred Trump is inviting CEOs to the White House to say they are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in new projects to avoid the import taxes.

It is also possible that the tariffs are short-lived if Trump feels he can cut a deal after imposing them.

“I’m certainly open to it, if we can do something,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll get something for it.”

At stake are family budgets, America’s prominence as the world’s leading financial power and the structure of the global economy.

▶ Read more about what you should know regarding the impending trade penalties

Trump will sign executive orders twice today, first at 1 p.m. ET and again at 5:30 p.m. ET, according to the White House.

Immigration remains a strength for Trump, but his handling of tariffs is getting more negative feedback, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

About half of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s approach to immigration, the survey shows, but only about 4 in 10 have a positive view of the way he’s handling the economy and trade negotiations.

The poll indicates that many Americans are still on board with Trump’s efforts to ramp up deportations and restrict immigration. But it also suggests that his threats to impose tariffs might be erasing his advantage on another issue that he made central to his winning 2024 campaign.

Views of Trump’s job performance overall are more negative than positive, the survey found. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, and more than half disapprove.

▶ Read more about the findings from the poll

Trump said Sunday that “I’m not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029.

“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News from Mar-a-Lago, his private club.

He elaborated later to reporters on Air Force One from Florida to Washington that “I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election was totally rigged.” Trump lost that election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Still, Trump added: “I don’t want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, we’ve got a long time to go.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on a third term

President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)