How Auburn found 'bittersweet' perspective after painful 2025 Final Four loss to Florida
SAN ANTONIO -- As Florida players mobbed each other and ran onto one side of the floor with DJ Khaled's "All I do is Win" blaring through the Alamodome, Auburn's players slowly assembled in a circle on the other end of the floor, arms around each other.
Following a 79-73 loss to the Gators in the Final Four on Saturday, the Tigers were slapped by the reality of the sudden end to a special season. On the one hand, Auburn reached just its second Final Four in program history. On the other, a group that spent eight weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll was left to process that someone else will be hoisting the national championship trophy on Monday night.
Amid the maelstrom of emotions, Auburn spent its last moments on the court together in the collective stance that will ultimately define this group of Tigers: they huddled in prayer.
"Call God," Chaney Johnson said in the locker room afterward. "That's going to be the name of this year."
Gratitude won out as a team with 10 players listed as seniors or graduate students sought to find perspective on a journey's end.
"It's bittersweet to end it this way knowing we left the national championship on the table," center Dylan Cardwell said. "But being at Auburn has been the best five years of my life. I couldn't have chosen a greater university to have loved me back, just watch me grow from 18 to 23. I am the man I am because God let me come to Auburn."
For a team that began the season ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, reaching the Final Four will go down as overachievement. After leading Florida 46-38 at halftime, failing to make the program's first-ever national championship game will taint the ending with a touch of disappointment.
"I'm sad we're not going to be in the national championship," said Chad Baker-Mazara, who led Auburn with 18 points. "But at the end of the day, we still made history. We've still got something to be proud of."
The Tigers played an immaculate half of basketball before faltering against the Gators' relentless attack, led by star guard Walter Clayton Jr.
Before entering to address his team, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl stood outside the locker room with his full staff. They all stared blankly at printed final box scores. Eventually, Pearl broke the silence by pointing out Florida's 16 points off turnovers. Florida's 14-6 edge in that category after halftime was an easy culprit.
More than anything, though, he seemed to be looking for the way to sum up a journey that ended on the doorstep of basketball immortality.
"I'm really proud of my team, how these guys made history, the best basketball team in the history of Auburn basketball," Pearl said. "They gave us a ride that won't ever be forgotten. They did so many great things both on and off the court that I'm extremely proud of."
The Tigers won the SEC regular season title outright, claiming a conference championship in what may go down as the toughest league in college basketball history. So dominant was Auburn that it earned the No. 1 overall seed for the Big Dance even after losing three of its final four games entering Selection Sunday.
In the end, though, the only SEC team to beat Auburn during the months of January and February was the same one that ended their season in April. If the Gators are the ones cutting down the nets on Monday night, it will make what happened Saturday a touch easier for Auburn to stomach.
"I hope they bring a national championship to the SEC," Johnson said. "No bad blood between us and them. They're repping the SEC to show that the SEC really was a gauntlet and the best teams really play in the SEC."
Baker-Mazara and Johni Broome each battled through injuries to lead Auburn in scoring against Florida. Both were defiant in their assertions of "no excuses." But it was obvious that neither was at 100%.
Baker-Mazara wore a brace on his shooting hand against the Gators, while a bulky brace adorned Broome's right elbow. Broome finished with as many second-half turnovers (three) as he did points.
Johnson noted that Baker-Mazara "literally has no tendon in his shooting hand" and pointed out that the veteran wing's thumb was purple.
"He's playing through that and making threes through that," Johnson said. "We've got Johni playing on a bum ankle. He had no time to fully recover, he hurt his shoulder a couple of times and has a bum elbow and he's still playing National Player of the Year caliber basketball. He's a great player, and Chad is a great player. Just to be a part of their journey and be playing for them, I couldn't be more thankful and more grateful."
The poorly-timed injuries to key players may leave a "what if" factor surrounding Auburn's 2024-25 season. But for those who lived the journey, that won't be the lasting impression.
A team that in November was making headlines for fighting on a flight turned in to one defined by bonds of faith and friendship on its path to the Final Four.
"I love these guys," Cardwell said. "I cherish every single moment, every single memory we made. That's my prayer all year: 'Lord, prolong our season.' We just have so many great memories on and off the court. This is the funniest team I've ever been on, but most loving, caring and thoughtful team I've ever been on.
"I'll forever remember this team and hope we can stay in touch for the rest of our lives."
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