Jon Rothstein had a message Tuesday for critics who claimed this year’s NCAA Tournament was devoid of upsets and Cinderellas. In a video posted on X, he expressed his enthusiasm for the Final Four, asserting, “The 2025 Final Four did not disappoint. There was a narrative throughout the tournament that it lacked flavor and was disappointing, not living up to the expectations set by past NCAA Tournaments.”
“I’ve been doing this for about 20 years, and I have never covered a Final Four with three games as thrilling as those we witnessed in San Antonio. When you look at each game, Florida was trailing Auburn at halftime, yet emerged victorious. Similarly, Houston was in dire straits against Duke but executed one of the most epic comebacks in Final Four history.” Rothstein added, “In the final game, Florida’s star player, Walter Clayton Jr., struggled for most of 35 minutes against Houston but showed resilience to help the Gators clinch their first national championship since Billy Donovan’s back-to-back titles in 2007.”
This might have been the best Final Four ever in terms of the quality of the three games. pic.twitter.com/KqtCTNpil2
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 8, 2025
Rothstein isn’t alone in praising this year’s tournament; the opening weekend saw the highest ratings in 32 years. Saturday’s semifinal games averaged 15.3 million viewers, reflecting a 19% increase from last year and marking the most-watched Final Four since 2017. However, critics pointed to a lack of upsets, with many fans expressing disappointment. Stephen A. Smith even claimed that the supposed shortage of March Madness upsets, attributed to NIL and the transfer portal, would lead to the “death” of college basketball.
In light of this, Rothstein highlighted the Gators’ resilience, countering criticism by pointing out their ability to rally from significant deficits in their final three tournament games, underscoring what made this Final Four so exceptional. “I want to make this really, really clear. I have not seen in my lifetime a Final Four that delivered better quality in terms of games than the one we just experienced. That excellence is directly linked to the national champion Florida Gators.”
