Houston rallies to beat Duke in the Final Four, will face Florida for the NCAA title
Houston’s defense wiped away a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes in a 70-67 stunner over Duke at the Final Four.
Houston's J'Wan Roberts (13) celebrates against Duke during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Houston’s suffocating defense wiped away a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes and erased Cooper Flagg and Duke’s title hopes Saturday in a 70-67 stunner over the Blue Devils at the Final Four.
Duke made a grand total of one field goal over the last 10 1/2 minutes of this game. The second-to-last attempt was a step-back jumper in the lane by Flagg that J’Wan Roberts disrupted. The last was a desperation heave by Tyrese Proctor that caught nothing at the buzzer.
HOUSTON WITH A COMEBACK FOR THE AGES 😱
THE COUGARS ARE OFF TO THE #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP GAME 👏#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/0VKD3tixoi
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
It was Roberts’ two free throws with 19.6 seconds left that gave the Cougars their first lead since 6-5. LJ Cryer, who led Houston with 26 points, made two more to push the lead to three. It was Houston’s biggest lead of the night.
The Cougars, who never won a title, not even in the days of Phi Slama Jamma, will play Florida on Monday night for the championship.
Florida’s 79-73 win over Auburn in the early game was a free-flowing hoopsfest. This one would’ve looked perfect on a cracked blacktop and a court with chain-link nets.
That’s just how Houston likes it. It closed the game on an 11-1 run, and though Flagg finished with 27 points, he did it on 8-for-19 shooting and never got a good look after his 3 at the 3:02 mark put the Blue Devils up by nine.
It looked over at that point. Houston was just getting started.
A team that prides itself on getting three stops in a row — calling the third one the “kill stop” — allowed a measly three free throws down the stretch.
Houston finished with four blocked shots, including four from its eraser, Joseph Tugler.
Related
Todd Golden's Florida Gators beat Auburn in Final Four
3 newcomers to ASU’s defense you should know entering the season
While Noah Fifita is already a legend at Arizona, Dash Fifita looks to build his own legacy
Year 4 will tell us a lot about what Kenny Dillingham can build at ASU
Louisiana judge rules against NCAA, clearing path for ex-NFL players to join LSU roster
ASU football rocking maroon-gold uniforms with Monster Energy patches for season opener
Comments
3 Comments
Duke evidently had zero training/practice on inbounding the ball against a full court press. Talk about choke.
I tried to tell folks Duke was cruisin' and hadn't been closely challenged the last half of the season; and in a close game they would be 'feeling it'. By 'it' I meant pressure. And no one is going to pressure you defensively, like Houston can.
Cougars v. Gators should be a great game Monday night. I called Houston at the start of the tournament madness. Sticking with them.
This might sound hard to believe, but I made $21,654 last month just working part-time online. And no, I didn’t need any experience or special qualifications to get started. {JJN-166} I joined this three months ago, followed the simple setup process, and started earning right away. I can work around my daily routine and still make a significant income. Just go here and follow the steps—they’ve made it super easy to get started.
Open This Web........ INCOMEPRO.NETLIFY.APP