SAN ANTONIO — Whatever happens on Monday night when the Gators face Houston for the national championship, Alijah Martin is guaranteed to make the annual “One Shining Moment” video that closes the NCAA Tournament.

And not just once.

In less than five minutes of the second half in Florida’s 79-73 win over Auburn, Martin electrified more than 68,000 fans in the Alamodome on Saturday night with a pair of rim-rattling dunks. More importantly, the highlight-worthy slams provided a jolt to his team in the Gators’ come-from-behind win at the Final Four.

Florida trailed by as many as nine (49-40) in the second half before going on an 11-0 run to take a 51-49 lead. Auburn pulled back ahead by four points before the Gators tied it at 57-all. That’s when Tigers point guard Tahaad Pettiford threw an errant pass behind Johni Broome on the ensuing possession.

Martin gathered the loose ball and charged toward the opposite end of the court as if being chased by a bear. Broome could not keep up, and as Martin reached the foul line, he lifted off for a soaring dunk to put the Gators up, 59-57, with 9:54 remaining.

But Martin was hardly finished. His best was yet to come as the teams traded leads four times over the next three minutes.

After Thomas Haugh’s layup gave UF a 64-63 lead with 6:31 remaining, it was Martin’s time to shine again. Call it his signature moment of the NCAA Tournament. Some are already calling it the best dunk of the postseason.

As he navigated the top of the lane on Auburn’s side of the court, Pettiford had the ball knocked away by Gators center Rueben Chinyelu. Martin grabbed the deflection, shifted direction, and picked up steam like a locomotive across the Plains.

“Anytime in transition, his eyes light up,” said teammate Denzel Aberdeen. “He wants to take off from far.”

With Pettiford racing back into the play and closing from behind, Auburn’s 6-foot-7 forward Chad Baker-Mazara sliced toward Martin from the opposite side of the court. That’s when the 6-foot-2 Martin exploded off the ground, cocked his right arm back while clutching the ball, and hammered home a dunk over both Tigers. 

In 2025, they call what transpired an instant social-media viral moment.

As the play unfolded, Martin braced for contact when Baker-Mazara raced toward him and shot into the air to try and block his shot.

“I see him kind of creeping over,” Martin said. “I didn’t know if he was going to jump or not, but even if he was, I was going to put it in the rim.”

Martin did that and more, crashing to the hardwood after the dunk, spinning on the floor, and jumping back up as the crowd buzzed over the spectacular finish that gave the Gators a 66-63 lead with 5:27 remaining.

They never trailed again.

“It gave us a lot of energy,” said UF guard Will Richard, whose astonished expression at Martin’s dunk was captured by photographers. “When you see one of your teammates get a dunk like that, that completely changes momentum.”

“That’s what he does,” added Aberdeen. “He’s a high-flyer.”

The dunks were nice for Martin, but he said his first Final Four victory meant the most. Martin made it to the Final Four two years ago while at Florida Atlantic, but the Owls were knocked out in the national semifinals.

Martin has spoken regularly during Florida’s trip to San Antonio about his desire for a better result this time around.

“We didn’t get the job done at FAU,” he said Saturday in Florida’s celebratory locker room. “We still haven’t gotten the job done. We’ve got one more to go. It’s different when you get bounced in the first game in the Final Four. This could be special if we get the job done here.”

Meanwhile, his teammates ribbed Martin for taking so long to finish a dunk in heavy traffic and contact the way he did in the national semifinals.

“We’ve been waiting for it all year,” said Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a game-high 34 points.

Martin had 17 points and three rebounds.

“I was sitting right under the rim watching it‚” Richard said. “It was kind of crazy because we always talk about it: He hasn’t got a body the whole year. And he gets it in the Final Four.”

The dunk was Martin’s final points, but he delivered at a critical stage on college basketball’s biggest stage. Afterward, he relived the moment repeatedly as reporters asked him about it wave after wave.

He didn’t seem to mind. After all, Martin has been to a Final Four before and knows how the alternative feels.

“It’s a blessing to be back here,” Martin said. “A lot of players get to experience it one time, but doing it twice is really special.”