NCAA Final Four players to watch: Cooper Flagg, Broome, Clayton

Auburn forward Johni Broome wears the net after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Looking for an inspiring underdog or a glass slipper lying around in San Antonio? This year’s version of the Final Four is not for you.

Fittingly for an NCAA Tournament in which big schools from big conferences took record numbers of spots in the first week, then hogged them all for the Sweet 16, the last week will bring a collection of all four teams seeded No. 1 to the sport’s biggest stage to play for the title.

When Florida meets Auburn in an all-Southeastern Conference clash and Duke faces Houston in a meeting between the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences, it will mark only the second time since seeding began in 1979 that all four No. 1s have made it to the final weekend.

READ: UConn wins 2nd straight NCAA title, dominates Purdue

The last time it happened, in 2008, one of the teams was Memphis, which hailed from Conference USA.

This time around, there are no mid-majors or small majors. Only the best teams from the best conferences — except the Big Ten, which will hasn’t had a team win it all since 2000 — who also have the nation’s best players.

Here’s a look at the best player on each team (for Auburn, Duke and Florida, they are AP All-Americans ), along with another who might make an impact in San Antonio once the games start Saturday.

Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

Broome hit his elbow hard in the second half of the Tigers’ 70-64 win over Michigan State. He left the court, but then came back, saying team doctors told him there was nothing wrong. He averages 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds and had 20-10 games in both wins this week. Clearly, his health will be a storyline.

If NBA scouts only look at backup guard Pettiford’s tournament, where he has averaged 17.2 points and sparked Auburn on a huge run in the Sweet 16 win against Michigan, they’d pick him in the first round. If they look at his overall body of work, they might say he still needs work. Either way, he could be a difference-maker over two games.

READ: Duke’s Cooper Flagg returns, makes March Madness debut

Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, Duke

Khaman Maluach #9 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts with Cooper Flagg #2 during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers at Lenovo Center on March 21, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP

There are times — see the 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist skills clinic against BYU — when Flagg just looks like he’s toying with everyone. There are other times — see Saturday’s win over Alabama — when he looks human. Which is more than enough, considering all the talent surrounding him.

Maluach is 7-foot-2 and has a standing reach of 9-8. If any opponent overplays him, they can expect a lob for an alley-oop dunk. He shot 12 for 15 over Sweet 16 weekend, and pretty much all the shots were from 4 feet or closer.

Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, Florida

Walter Clayton Jr. #1 of the Florida Gators celebrates after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 84-79 in the West Regional Elite Eight round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 29, 2025 in San Francisco, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP

Clayton made the tying and go-ahead 3s in Florida’s ferocious comeback against Texas Tech. He finished with 30 points and his coach, Todd Golden, said, “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.”

During one two-game stretch in February, Richard had two points in one contest and 21 the next. During another, he scored zero, then 30. Fill in the blanks here, but he could be a big factor for the Gators either way.

READ: Duke’s Cooper Flagg is biggest star heading into March Madness

Joseph Tugler and L.J. Cryer, Houston

Joseph Tugler #11 of the Houston Cougars gestures in front of Camden Heide #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half in the Midwest Regional Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 28, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP

Fittingly for the team with the nation’s best defense, a player who only averages 5.5 points could be the most valuable for the Cougars. Tugler is on everyone’s all-defense list, and for Houston to have any chance at stopping Flagg, it’ll have to figure out ways to use Tugler to do it.

Cryer is Houston’s leading scorer at 15.2 points a game. If the Cougars end up as national champs, it will have to be because he played the two best games of his life.