Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) shoots for three in front of Connecticut forward Alex Karaban (11) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-03-23T18:39:27Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Walter Clayton Jr. and No. 1 seed Florida ended UConns pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points as Florida (32-4), one of the favorites for this years title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurleys Huskies (24-11), who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half.Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Colorado State or Maryland in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco.UConn was seeking to become the first team to three-peat since UCLAs run of seven straight titles from 1967-73.The Huskies won the 2023 title in Houston and last year in Glendale, Arizona, joining Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only schools to win back-to-back since the Bruins run under John Wooden. ___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.