The 2025 Final Four features a historic amount of firepower with all four No. 1 seeds reaching the national semifinals for just the second time in NCAA Tournament history, but Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said one of those teams stands above the rest. Pearl tabbed Florida as the best team in the country ahead of the SEC-on-SEC battle that lies ahead between the Tigers and Gators.
Pearl got a firsthand look at Florida earlier this season when the Gators handed its squad a home loss and one of just three defeats in conference play. The 90-81 loss snapped a 14-game winning streak. Auburn’s revenge opportunity now arrives this weekend in a single-elimination situation, and if the Tigers level the season series, they will advance to play for the national championship.
“I’ve been saying for the last two months that I’ve thought that Florida is the best team in the country,” Pearl said on ‘The Paul Finebaum Show.’ “I thought they were playing better than anybody. They’ve got an incredibly deep front line. They’ve got the best point guard on the floor almost every single night in Walter Clayton. Their wings, Martin and Richard, can really score. They’re big. And Todd does a great job coaching. This is going to be a great, great challenge for us.”
Four Gators scored in double figures when they defeated Auburn in an impressive road triumph. Walter Clayton Jr. paced the squad with 19 points, and a repeat effort could be on the horizon for the star guard, who shredded opponents thus far in the NCAA Tournament and is a top candidate to win the postseason’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Clayton delivered a heroic effort in the Gators’ most recent outing and amassed 30 points to help lead a late comeback against Texas Tech. He drained back-to-back 3-pointers with under two minutes remaining to tie and take the lead, erasing a nine-point deficit.
The looming battle in San Antonio is one of two between No. 1 seeds, with Duke and Houston set to clash on the other side of the bracket. The winner of Saturday’s all-SEC clash will have to get through another historically elite opponent in order to cut nets.
“I believe you have the four best teams in college basketball,” said Pearl. “Yeah, they were all No. 1s. But I don’t think there’s a single team outside of these four that you would want to make an argument saying, ‘No, they’re one of the top four teams.’ I don’t think there’s a fifth team out there that you can make that argument.”
TRANSFER PORTAL INTEL (VIP): Guards | Forwards | Bigs
Florida is the betting favorite to advance to the title game, albeit by a slim 2.5-point margin over Auburn, per FanDuel Sportsbook. In the other national semifinal, Duke is a 4.5-point favorite over Houston.
This article originates on 247Sports.
by TaboolaSponsored Links
You May Like
California : Gov’t Gives Homeowners A Massive Tax Break To Go Solar
Solar incentives are empowering homeowners to ditch high power bills, turning solar into a power bill-cutting superpower. As power companies lose, you win with lower energy costs and long-term savings.
Energy Bill Program
College basketball transfer portal 2025: Top scorers still available, UNC, Texas in pursuit
UNC, Texas, Alabama and others are shopping.
Grant Hughes
Grant Hughes
100 mins
0
The 2025 college basketball transfer portal has been open for a week, and some of the top scorers from the 2024-25 season are searching for new schools this offseason, highlighted by former Farleigh Dickson star Terrence Brown. The 6-foot-3 combo guard ranked No. 8 nationally in points per game this season at 20.6 and is one of eight players still available in the portal to average 19.0 ppg or better in 2024-25.
Expect the top scorers to fly off the board. Every player on this list ranks within the transfer portal’s top 150, and all have heard from high-major schools, with most fielding interest from the biggest programs in the nation.
National basketball analyst Travis Branham identified the teams in most need of a scoring punch in the transfer portal this offseason and expects each to be heavily involved with at least one name on this list: North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Miami, Auburn, Florida, Michigan State, Texas A&M and Illinois.
RELATED (VIP): Which schools are contacting the top transfer guards
Here are the top 10 scorers available in the college basketball transfer portal as of April 1:
8. Jalen Jackson, PG, IPFW
(Photo: Matthew O’Haren, USA TODAY Sports)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 31.4 | PTS: 19.2 | FG 48.4% | 3FG 26.4% (3.5 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 43 OVR | No. 10 PG
Jackson looks to parlay his career year into a sizable deal at a Power Five. He stuffed the stat sheet in 2024-25 behind a career-high 19.2 points per game but only shot 26.4% from three-point range. He shot it better from deep in the past, connecting on 41.4% of his 2.8 attempts per game in 2023-24. The 6-foot-2 lead guard showed he can do it against top competition, too. He scored 27 points in a loss to Michigan earlier this year and 31 points in a loss to Penn State.
7. Blake Harper, SG, Howard
(Photo: Luke Johnson, Getty)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 34.4 | PTS: 19.5 | FG 44.7% | 3FG 40.4% (3.1 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 52 OVR | No. 12 SG
Harper overachieved as a true freshman, and took home MEAC Player of the Year honors. High-majors view the Washington, D.C. native as an instant starter at the 3 or in a jumbo 2 role. Harper already received interest from several of the nation’s best programs and is a “name to watch” at North Carolina and Oregon. He recorded five 30-point outings in 2024-25, including a season-high 35 points against Hampton on Feb. 1.
6. Quimari Peterson, PG, ETSU
(Photo: Courtesy of East Tennessee State, 247Sports)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 34.5 | PTS: 19.5 | FG 46.8% | 3FG 42.2% (6.4 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 26 OVR | No. 5 PG
Peterson earned SoCon Player of the Year honors this season and enters the portal as a grad transfer. The biggest strength of the 6-foot-1, 175-pound lead guard is his ability to drill shots from three, both off the catch and pull, shooting 42.2% from behind the arc on 6.4 attempts per game. Peterson also has active hands-on defense, averaging a career-high 2.0 points per game in 2024-25.
5. Jacob Ognacevic, PF, Lipscomb
(Photo: Getty)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 33.7 | PTS: 19.5 | FG 57.5% | 3FG 40.2% (3.5 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 111 OVR | No. 25 PF
Ognacevic is a modern big man. He will be a big get for a high-major team looking for a stretch four. The Sheboygan, Wisc. native is 6-foot-8, and on top of his elite scoring numbers, averaged 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and shot 80.0% from the free throw line. Ognacevic scored 18 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting and chipped in two rebounds in Lipscomb’s 82-55 loss to Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this postseason.
4. Abdi Bashir Jr., SG, Monmouth
(Photo: Monmouth University)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 33.2 | PTS: 20.1 | FG 37.7% | 3FG 38.3% (10.1 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 36 OVR | No. 8 SG
Bashir is among the most intriguing players to enter the portal. He brings tremendous size at 6-foot-7 and is a prolific three-point shooter, ranking second in the nation this season at 10.1 attempts per game. He hit 10 three-pointers and scored a career-high 38 points in a loss to Rutgers on Nov. 15. Bashir owns two more years of eligibility,and received significant interest from a who’s who of SEC schools.
3. Barrington Hargress, PG, UC Riverside
(Photo: UC Riverside Athletics)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 31.9 | PTS: 20.2 | FG 44.4% | 3FG 32.9% (3.5 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 34 OVR | No. 9 PG
Hargress was one of the best scorers in all of college basketball this season, breaking UC Riverside’s single-season scoring record as a redshirt sophomore. He set a program record for single-game scoring with 40 points in an 85-81 win over San Diego on Jan. 11. Hargress is looking for a bigger stage for his final two seasons of eligibility and should land among the Power Five ranks.
2. Lamar Wilkerson, SG, SAM HOUSTON STATE
(Photo: Getty)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 34.9 | PTS: 20.5 | FG 47.7% | 3FG 44.5% (7.7 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 31 OVR | No. 7 SG
Knockdown three-point shooters are always a hot commodity in the transfer portal, and Wilkerson was one of the best in 2024-25, leading the nation in three-point percentage (44.5%) for players who averaged over 7.5 attempts per game. He had eight games with five or more threes this season. Wilkerson is 6-foot-4 with 63 games of starting experience under his belt the last few seasons and has reportedly heard from Auburn, Kansas, Ole Miss, and SMU, among others.
1. Terrence Brown, CG, FDU
(Photo: Terrence Brown on IG)
2024-25 Stats: MIN: 34.6 | PTS: 20.6 | FG 44.8% | 3FG 29.6% (3.9 ATT)
Portal Ranking: No. 136 OVR | No. 18 CG
Brown ranked No. 8 in scoring as a sophomore. He brings good size at 6-foot-3 but leaves some to be desired behind the arc, where he connected on just 25.0% of his three-point attempts as a freshman and 29.6% as a sophomore. Brown dropped a season-high 31 points against Central Connecticut State in February and had notable performances against Power Five schools, including a 27-point outburst against Villanova and a 23-point at Nebraska.
This article originates on 247Sports.
2025 Portal Recruiting Tracker: Which schools are contacting the top transfer forwards
Here is a list of the top small and power forward transfers and the schools that have reached out for their services.
Brandon Jenkins
Brandon Jenkins
2 hrs
VIP
1
The 2025 transfer portal is alive, well and somewhat daunting for all involved. More than 1,000 players have entered the portal since it opened and the numbers will continue to increase as players’ seasons conclude.
All the madness results in a plethora of tweets of who is entering, what schools are pursuing certain players, and visits that are being set.
RELATED: Early buzz on top college basketball transfers
Focusing on the top names (in alphabetical order by last name), we will highlight the schools reaching out to the most talked about and highest ranked players at both forward positions in the portal.
To read this full article and more, subscribe now —
SALE: 50% off first year
Get access to this article and all of the in-depth coverage from the 247Sports Network with this special offer.
50% off first year
Already a subscriber? Login
This article originates on 247Sports.
AboutContact UsAdvertisersHelp CenterCareersPrivacy PolicyCalifornia NoticeTerms of UseSubscription TermsToggle Full/Mobile
Your Privacy Choices
© 2005-2025 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc.
The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and 247Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any g
ame or event.
There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and 247Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
About The Author
