Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. is rolling into the NCAA title game. Next up: Houston's rugged defense

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. is running hot and playing with unshakeable belief, fueled by his Florida teammates' insistence that any shot he takes is a good one.

Even if he can't see the rim.

"Sometimes you can't," Clayton said with a chuckle.

That's good, considering the Gators' opponent in Monday night's national championship game often erases any clean looks at the basket.

Houston has been the defensive force of the tournament, either slowing or downright locking down some of the best offenses in the game. Now the Cougars — who pulled off an improbable comeback in Saturday's semifinals to beat Duke — are the final hurdle for Clayton to complete Florida's title push that would almost certainly make him the Final Four's most outstanding player considering his March Madness dominance.

It could offer a memorable capper to an all-chalk Final Four that put four 1-seeds onto college basketball's biggest stage for only the second time ever.

“Obviously he hasn't been perfect all year,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Sunday. “But he's been pretty dang good over these last couple months.”

The 6-foot-3 Clayton, an Associated Press first-team All-American who started his career under Rick Pitino at Iona, is averaging 24.6 points through the five NCAA games, with his 123 points standing 18 more than Duke star freshman and AP national player of the year Cooper Flagg as the next-closest player.

Yet it's more about the way he's making that impact, with big shots, efficient shooting and clutch focus.

Clayton scored 13 of his 23 points in the final eight minutes, including two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch, to help Florida push past two-time reigning national champion UConn in the second round. Then came Florida's escape against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, with Clayton scoring 13 points in the last five minutes — including two 3s in the final 2 minutes — in a Superman act lacking only a cape.

“There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment,” Golden said afterward.

Then came Saturday's semifinal win against Auburn, when he had a career-best 34 points on 11 for 18 shooting.

Now comes Houston, a team that leads on defense, rebounding and relentlessness to wrestle opponents into submission.

The Cougars are ranked No. 1 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency and have been tested in their five-game tournament run in matchups against Gonzaga, Purdue and Duke offenses that ranked in the top 10 of KenPom's offensive efficiency metrics.

Yet Houston has locked down on its NCAA opponents to hold them to a rate of 98.7 points per 100 possessions. The highlight was holding Tennessee to a rate of 89.3 in the regional final, then grinding the Blue Devils to a halt by allowing just one field goal through the final 10 minutes in a comeback from 14 down.

Now they get Clayton, who is a reason why the Gators have been one of the country's most efficient offenses all season.

“Honestly we're the No. 1 defensive team in the country for a reason," Houston guard Milos Uzan said. "I wouldn't change up anything that we do. I just think you've got to be aware when he has the ball in the ball screen, you've got to be a little bit more in sync with the bigs.”

The Cougars' ability to blitz ball screens is a key piece of their defensive efforts, with the Cougars sending the defender of both the ball handler and screener at the ball. That can lead to ball handlers backpedaling to work further from the basket against what begins taking shape as a trap.

They can recover quickly when the ball moves out of danger, then frequently run second defenders at the post.

That combination worked against the Blue Devils, who had trouble getting much of anything going other than Flagg after halftime. Duke No. 2 scorer Kon Knueppel had just four second-half points, while Houston shut off lobs to rim-running big man Khaman Maluach (six points, zero rebounds in 21 minutes) and completely took Tyrese Proctor out of the game (seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in 37-plus minutes).

Stopping Clayton's heater could be the toughest challenge yet considering his momentum. Notably, that includes him hitting 19 of 39 3-pointers (48.7%) and 38 of 42 free throws (90.5%) in the tournament.

“Just the guys around me, they tell me any shot I take is not a bad shot,” Clayton said. “So they say any time I've got a look at the rim, just let that thing go.”

One thing's certain: He won't hesitate on the final Monday night of the season.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Duke guard Caleb Foster shoots over Houston guard Milos Uzan during the first half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Houston's J'Wan Roberts (13) blocks a shot by Duke's Sion James (14) during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. and guard Alijah Martin speak during a news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., right, shoots as Auburn's Chaney Johnson (31) defends during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. shoots over Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. and guard Alijah Martin speak during a news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Oscar Piastri took his second win of the Formula 1 season in dominant style at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Piastri started on pole and kept Mercedes’ George Russell behind him, fending off a challenge for the lead after a safety-car restart.

Russell held on to second after defending his position on the last lap from Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who finished third after starting sixth.

“It’s been an incredible weekend,” Piastri said after claiming McLaren’s first-ever win in Bahrain. “To finish the job today in style was nice.”

Norris keeps the lead of the championship with a three-point advantage over Piastri. Defending champion Max Verstappen, who finished sixth, is five points further back in third.

Piastri had a no-drama run to the checkered flag, except for a drinks system which wasn’t working in the desert heat. Norris' race was a roller-coaster.

Norris made up three places off the start but was then handed a five-second penalty for starting too far forward on his grid space. After going down as far as 14th, he made up places and won a lengthy battle with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton before falling short in his attempt to beat Russell for second.

“A messy race for me and disappointed not to bring home the one-two for McLaren,” Norris said.

Russell had to deal with electrical problems on his car and was facing an investigation into his use of the DRS overtake aid system. Russell said it had opened by accident when he pressed the button to use the radio but said he eased off and didn't gain an advantage.

Russell’s second place was the best result for Mercedes since Russell won the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari after losing a hard-fought battle to Norris while his teammate Hamilton started ninth but cut through the field to finish fifth.

After last week’s race in Japan resembled a procession, with all of the top six finishing in the order they started, Bahrain offered a festival of overtaking.

Verstappen won last week but was never in contention in Bahrain and was even last at one stage. He survived an overheating car and a slow pit stop to place sixth, passing Pierre Gasly, who was seventh for Alpine.

Esteban Ocon of Haas was eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda ninth for his first points since joining Red Bull — and the team's first for any driver other than Verstappen since November — and Oliver Bearman 10th in the other Haas.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain stand on the podium after taking second place at the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia holds trophy after winning the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia wins the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir circuit, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Andrej Isakovic Pool via AP)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after winning the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia wins the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir circuit, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Andrej Isakovic Pool via AP)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates after winning the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia wins the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir circuit, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Andrej Isakovic Pool via AP)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia celebrates winning the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Second placed Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, left, first-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, center, and thrid placed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco pose after the qualifying for the Formula One 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Seond-placed Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar of France3= congratulates pole position winner McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the qualifying for the Formula One 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the qualifying for the Formula One 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia reacts after winning the pole position during the qualifying for the Formula One 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)