By LAUREN MEROLA NYTimes News Service
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Just because there’s no Cinderella doesn’t mean there can’t be a storybook ending.

In 2025, the crown will go to a No. 1 seed, as all four top dogs — Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston — advanced to the Final Four for the second time in tournament history. The Blue Devils face the Cougars, while the Tigers take on the Gators, both in San Antonio on April 5.

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The dominance of the SEC has loomed over March, with the conference setting a record with 14 NCAA Tournament bids, then another with seven teams in the Sweet 16. It also became the first conference to have four schools in the regional finals.

Two SEC teams remain, and they meet in the semifinal. The ACC and Big 12 will match up on the other side of the bracket.

If you’re new to the madness, here is an overview of the last few standing teams.

Duke

The Blue Devils walked into the NCAA Tournament fresh off the ACC tournament victory, which they conquered without their leader Cooper Flagg, who sat out of the competition after sustaining an ankle injury in the opener.

Since Flagg’s return for the first round, Duke has won comfortably for the most part. It bested three of four teams by double digits, crushing Mount Saint Mary’s in the first round by 44 points. The team dialed up its top-five defense in the Elite Eight against Alabama.

While Flagg leads the team in points (18.9), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.2) and steals (1.4), it was the team’s defense that carried the Blue Devils to ACC regular-season and tournament titles, to the No. 1 ranking in the country and the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

It is Duke’s first Final Four under coach Jon Scheyer and the program’s 18th overall. The Blue Devils last reached the Final Four in 2022.

Florida

After splitting its regular-season meetings with Tennessee at a win apiece, Florida bested the Volunteers in the SEC tournament title game to emerge as conference champions and roll into March with momentum.

But as March can go, the Gators almost didn’t make it to the Final Four, after Florida had to erase a double-digit second-half deficit against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. And it did primarily because of Walter Clayton Jr.’s clutch shot-making.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard finished with 30 points, and eight of them in the final 107 seconds, to send the Gators to their first Final Four since 2014. Clayton leads the team in points (18.1) and assists (4.2).

“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,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the Elite Eight comeback.

Houston

Like Florida, Houston also had to get past Tennessee. It did so in the Elite Eight, with one of the most impressive defensive performances in NCAA Tournament history.

The Big 12 Conference champions held the Vols to just 28.8 percent from the field, 14 straight missed 3-point attempts to open the game and — yes, you’re about to read this right — 15 points in the first half. It marked the lowest-scoring first half by a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament history.

It’s typical for the Cougars, who haven’t lost a road game all season. Led by coach Kelvin Sampson, the program’s holy trinity of defense, rebounding and taking care of the ball, always travels. It’s been needed on Houston’s path to the Final Four. Houston has had it tough in the Midwest region, having to knock off No. 2-seeded Tennessee (69-50), No. 4-seeded Purdue (62-60), No. 8-seeded Gonzaga (81-76) and No. 16-seeded SIU Edwardsville (78-40).

Auburn

Auburn got off to three slow starts in its first three games. Against No. 5-seeded Michigan in the Sweet 16, the Tigers had to claw back from a nine-point second-half deficit and closed the game on a remarkable 39-17 run en route to the Elite Eight.

But once there against Michigan State, the Tigers flipped the script, putting together a complete game to end Tom Izzo and the Spartans’ season.

Senior forward Johni Broome — the team’s leader in points, rebounds and blocks — finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points.

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