The 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is winding down, with the Final Four happening in San Antonio. The tournament hasn’t had too much madness, with all four No. 1 seeds advancing to the national semifinals.
However, both semifinals were incredible, with Florida coming from behind to beat top-seeded Auburn and Houston taking advantage of a late Duke collapse.
Legendary Houston big man Hakeem Olajuwon was denied access to the on-court postgame celebration, and another JJ Watt let his thoughts be known on social media.
JJ Watt Didn’t Appreciate Security Denying Hakeem Olajuwon From Houston’s Final Four Win Celebration
The 2025 edition of March Madness has been very chalky with three No. 1 vs No. 2 seed matchups and one No. 1 vs No. 3 matchup in the Elite Eight. All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for the second time ever, and all four are historically good teams.
Florida and Auburn kicked off Final Four Saturday with an epic rematch. The Gators won the regular season matchup 90-81 on the road and were arguably the hottest team in the country coming into the tournament. They used a strong second-half rally to send Charles Barkley’s alma mater home, winning 79-73.
The second game didn’t look like the instant classic it became, as Duke was firmly in control late into the second half. The Cougars trailed by 14 with eight minutes to play and relied on their tough defense, holding Duke to just one made field goal over the last 10 1/2 minutes.
This will be Houston’s first appearance in the Championship Game since 1984, when Olajuwon led Phi Slamma Jamma to the last of three-straight Final Fours. “The Dream” never won a National Title at Houston, but now he can’t even celebrate with his school after being shut down by a security guard trying to get on the court.
A video of Olajuwon being denied hit social media, and Watt responded with bewilderment.
C’monnnnn Man.
You let The Dream on the court.
What are we doing here… https://t.co/XyDQGSI9tE
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 7, 2025
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year tweeted, “C’monnnnn Man. You let The Dream on the court. What are we doing here…” in response to the video. Watt was recently bumped up to the broadcast booth by CBS, but he doesn’t have enough sway yet to get Olajuwon past security.
Watt never brought Houston a title in his 10 years with the Texans, but Olajuwon was able to win two in his 17 years with the Rockets. He won back-to-back NBA Finals and Finals MVP Awards in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, but that’s not enough street cred to get him on the court at the Final Four.
If Olajuwon didn’t have a credential, then that was a mistake by Houston, and the security guard was just doing his job. However, “The Dream” is pretty tough to not recognize.
Hakeem is 7 feet tall. He looks tiny compared to the security guard.