Florida wins Final Four thriller over Auburn: Best memes, tweets as Gators head for title game

For much of Saturday's Final Four clash between No. 1 Auburn and No. 1 Florida, the Tigers were in position to advance to the National Championship game. Auburn held an eight-point lead at the end of the first half and led by as many as nine points. They were in command, until they weren't.

The Gators came storming back almost immediately, going on a 13-3 run to take a two-point lead within the first five minutes of the second half. The Tigers kept things interesting in the second half, but the Gators wound up pulling away late, winning the game 79-73 behind Walter Clayton Jr.'s 34-point performance.

The Gators finding a way to come back and steal this win had all college basketball fans going nuts on X.

Best memes, tweets after Gators defeat Tigers in Final Four

It's safe to say Walter Clayton Jr. is now a villain in the eyes of every Auburn fan, and it isn't hard to see why.

Seemingly everything was trending in Auburn's direction ahead of and for much of this game. They were the best team in the country seemingly all year, had the best player on the floor in Johni Broome, and had big-game experience. To top it off, they held an eight-point lead at the break. Clayton clearly did not care about any of that, and willed Florida to its most impressive victory of the college basketball season thus far.

Clayton didn't just play well, he dominated. He went 11-for-18 from the field, hit five of his eight three-point attempts, and didn't miss any of his seven free throws en route to 34 points. He wound up putting together one of the best Final Four showings ever, and he did that against arguably the best team in the country, and an elite defensive one at that.

Clayton's performance has some Gators fans wondering how highly he ranks among the greatest Florida athletes ever. While the top three in all sports might be a bit of a stretch right now, a National Championship win might put him in that conversation.

What made this win even more impressive for Florida was that the Gators had to battle not only the best team in the country, but the referees as well, in the eyes of former Gator Chandler Parsons. Plenty of questionable calls went Auburn's way, yet Florida still wound up advancing to the National Championship.