THE BIGGEST DANCE – 41st Edition
The Florida Gators Get Their One Shining Moment
As the curtain falls on the 41st edition of the Biggest Dance, the Florida Gators emerged victorious, earning the right to cut down the nets and etch their names into history—or at least into the memories (and grudges) of Dancers across the globe. As for the announcement you’ve all been waiting for: this year’s champ is Tourney veteran “BB’s Net Gains” with a jaw-dropping 147 points! Close behind were “Ron Gordon Project” and “Pdubs54”, who both finished the Dance with 146 points. In 4th to 8th place, our remaining Dancers on the podium are “Tigertigertiger,” “Dabraunt,” “AlcindorWaltonOBannon,” “DBPR” and “Small Language Model”. Of course we can’t forget our bottom three finishers: “mad dog,” “UrGatuGPT “and “Schmitzah”. “Schmitzah” deserves a special shoutout after finishing dead last, posting a meager 37 points, and correctly picking the winner in only 37% of matchups.
Before the confetti settles, we’d like to take a moment to recognize the Dancers who had truly notable performances this year, such as “JaneyPants,” who finished in 477th place with only 77 points despite correctly picking the Gators as their champion. We would be remiss if we did not recognize the sheer wizardry (or AI-magic) that was exhibited by “Small Language Model”, who managed to finish every round (except for the one that counts) at the top of the leaderboard. As a true herald of the underdog spirit, this Dancer was tied with “Schieber” for the most called upsets with a whopping 38 underdog points.
This year’s Dance was marked by blue-blooded dominance – and a lack of upsets – with the lowest seed making the Elite 8 being #3 seeded Texas Tech. For the first time since 2008, the Final Four was filled with #1 seeds, with many expecting the Vegas-favorite Duke Blue Devils to add yet another National Championship to their collection. With just 34 seconds left in regulation, the Blue Devils led the Cougars 67-61 and Houston fans worldwide were bracing to watch their championship dreams slip away. But, in a stunning twist, the Cougars proved to everyone why they deserved their #1 seed ranking and mounted an electrifying comeback to snatch a 70-67 victory, and crush Duke’s hopes for glory. Florida’s path to the title was not made easy in their Final Four showdown against Auburn as the Tigers took an 8-point lead by the half. Tournament standout Walter Clayton Jr. didn’t let the Gators’ deficit last long, however, dazzling the Tigers with 34 points and securing a shot at everlasting glory for Florida.
In a highly anticipated championship matchup between the Florida Gators and the Houston Cougars, the stage was set for the final act of the Biggest Dance. Houston started the game out strong, going into the half with a 31-28 lead over the Gators. The Gators could only be defended for so long, though, as senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. hit three-pointer after three-pointer, drawing the score to a tie with seven minutes to go. The final seven minutes of regulation saw both teams leave it all on the court, with eleven (yes, eleven) tie scores in the final minutes. In the end, the Houston Cougars did not make it out of the swamp alive and the Florida Gators earned their One Shining Moment, ending the drought since their last championship in 2007.
To the 2025 Dancers: thank you for bringing the heat, the trash talk and the gloriously bad picks that we’ll never let you live down. Until next year – when the brackets reset, the dreams reignite, and March begins anew – it has been a pleasure facilitating the Madness once again.
Best,
The Commissioner