SAN ANTONIO >> Walter Clayton Jr. scored 34 points and Florida beat Southeastern Conference rival Auburn 79-73 in the Final Four on Saturday night, sending the Gators to the national championship game for the first time since their titles in 2006 and 2007.

The All-America guard for the Gators (35-4) had a driving layup with 2:24 left, on the possession right after Australian big man Alex Condon drew a charge against Johni Broome, the other All-America player in this national semifinal — and who was dealing with an injured right elbow.

After a record 14 SEC teams made this NCAA Tournament, seven got to the Sweet 16 before the league made up half the Elite Eight and then this Final Four filled with No. 1 seeds.

The Gators will have the chance Monday night to win the SEC’s first title since Kentucky in 2012, the only one since they won in back-to-back seasons. Florida takes an 11-game winning streak into the title championship game in the Alamodome against either Duke or Houston.

Auburn (32-6), in its second Final Four with coach Bruce Pearl, was the top overall seed.

Duke’s Flagg gets Wooden award >> Duke’s Cooper Flagg, a freshman forward, was named the John R. Wooden Award winner as the nation’s top men’s player, beating Auburn’s Johni Broome by 178 votes on Saturday. He is Duke’s eighth Wooden winner, the most of any school.

Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four.

The other finalists were Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida, Mark Sears of Alabama and Braden Smith of Purdue.

Pro basketball

Anthony enters Hall >> Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice. And LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group that’s headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.

Anthony and Howard were announced Saturday as members of the Class of 2025, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team that they played on — dubbed the “Redeem Team,” the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketball’s men’s program.

Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.

“I made it to the real basketball heaven,” Howard said. “It’s crazy.”

“When the call comes and in my case, I saw Springfield on the phone,” Anthony said on the televised announcement. “You know what time it is Springfield is on the phone. You know who it is. You get the phone call and you hear, ‘You’re in.’ And I think for me, it was a burden off of my shoulders.”

Women’s basketball

USC’s Watkins earns award >> JuJu Watkins is adding more hardware to her trophy case.

The Southern California sophomore guard won the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s outstanding women’s basketball player. She beat out UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who won in 2021, by 46 votes.

Watkins averaged 24.6 points per game for the Trojans before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in their second-round NCAA Tournament win over Mississippi State.

Racing

Verstappen takes pole for Japanese Grand Prix >> Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start from pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time in qualifying in his final attempt.

Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside on Sunday with teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

Verstappen claimed the pole on his final lap, setting a lap-record for the Japanese circuit of 1 minute 26.983 seconds. It was his 41st pole.

Verstappen was asked how this ranked among his many accomplishments in F1.

Golf

Harman keeps lead at Texas Open >> Brian Harman survived 30 mph wind by playing the final 13 holes without a bogey, giving him an even-par 72 and a three-shot lead in a Valero Texas Open so difficult that only six players managed to break par.

Harman had his chance to join them until narrowly missing a 12-foot birdie attempt on the final hole at the TPC San Antonio.