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Kelvin Sampson and Houston put a sour end to Duke and Cooper Flagg's season.
In what was a Final Four thriller, the Cougars ended Duke's historic season with a come-from-behind, 70-67 win on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Cougars used an 11-1 run over the last 1:14 of the second half to punch their ticket to the national championship game on Monday, April 7 against Florida.
REQUIRED READING: Cooper Flagg wins Wooden Award, becomes fourth freshman to be named nation's best player
"No one ever loses in anything as long as you don't quit. You quit, I don't care, you've lost. Our thing in our timeout (was) we've been here before. It's not like we're down 20. It's not like we were playing great. We felt like if we could get it close enough to put some game pressure on them that something good could happen," Sampson told CBS's Tracy Wolfson after the game.
"But all the credit, all the credit, all the glory goes to God and all the credit goes to these unbelievable young men I get coach. I'm so blessed I get to coach these kids."
Trailing six with 1:14 remaining in the game, Emanuel Sharp catalyzed a 9-0 Cougars run to close the game when he cut the deficit to three with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Sharp's 3-pointer was then with a defensive stop by the Cougars when Mylik Wilson stole the ball on an inbound pass from Duke's Sion James.
That steal from Wilson would then be followed up by a missed free throw from Duke's Tyrese Proctor that became two free throws from J'Wan Roberts after a controversial foul was called against Blue Devils star freshman Cooper Flagg.
The way Houston closed the game proved why it entered Saturday's Final Four game as the No. 1-ranked defense on KenPom, as the Cougars held the Blue Devils to just one made field goal in the final 10:30 of the game while causing that costly game-changing turnover on the inbound pass.
Duke led by as much as 14 at the 8:17 mark of the second half. The Blue Devils' offense underwent two extended droughts without a field goal in the second half, a near six-minute stretch that was ended by a Flagg 3-pointer and then a 3:03 stretch to end the game.
"I thought we had some good looks, (just) didn't finish. Have to give Houston a ton of credit," Scheyer told Wolfson. "I'm not about to hang our head. This is part of it. You have to handle the wins and you have to handle the losses too. ... We felt like we were the best team and the best team tonight was Houston."
The finish to Duke and Houston's game wasn't without controversy. Houston sent Duke's Proctor to the foul line with 19.6 seconds left in the game, with the Blue Devils hoping to extend what was then a 67-66 lead. However, Proctor missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Flagg was called for a controversial foul that sent J'Wan Roberts to the foul line.
He sunk both of his free throws on the one-and-one, giving Houston the lead.
Flagg was unable to hit a float-away jumper and, following another two Houston foul shots, the Blue Devils missed on a desperation 3-point attempt to tie the game and try to win it in overtime.
Wooden Award finalist L.J. Cryer led the Cougars in points with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Flagg led the Blue Devils with 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting and likely head off to the
Houston is now heading to its first national championship game since 1984, and the program's second title game appearance. The Cougars are 0-2 in the national championship game of the men's NCAA Tournament.
A win on Monday against Florida would make Sampson the oldest coach to win March Madness, a feat that would almost certainly book his ticket to the Hall of Fame, as he has turned the Cougars into one of the preeminent programs in the country over his 10-year tenure in Houston.
Duke ends the season at 35-4 overall, its most wins in a single-season since 2021-22.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How did Duke basketball collapse against Houston in Final Four?
Continue reading...
In what was a Final Four thriller, the Cougars ended Duke's historic season with a come-from-behind, 70-67 win on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Cougars used an 11-1 run over the last 1:14 of the second half to punch their ticket to the national championship game on Monday, April 7 against Florida.
REQUIRED READING: Cooper Flagg wins Wooden Award, becomes fourth freshman to be named nation's best player
"No one ever loses in anything as long as you don't quit. You quit, I don't care, you've lost. Our thing in our timeout (was) we've been here before. It's not like we're down 20. It's not like we were playing great. We felt like if we could get it close enough to put some game pressure on them that something good could happen," Sampson told CBS's Tracy Wolfson after the game.
"But all the credit, all the credit, all the glory goes to God and all the credit goes to these unbelievable young men I get coach. I'm so blessed I get to coach these kids."
Houston goes on extended run
Trailing six with 1:14 remaining in the game, Emanuel Sharp catalyzed a 9-0 Cougars run to close the game when he cut the deficit to three with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Sharp's 3-pointer was then with a defensive stop by the Cougars when Mylik Wilson stole the ball on an inbound pass from Duke's Sion James.
That steal from Wilson would then be followed up by a missed free throw from Duke's Tyrese Proctor that became two free throws from J'Wan Roberts after a controversial foul was called against Blue Devils star freshman Cooper Flagg.
Duke's offense goes cold — twice
The way Houston closed the game proved why it entered Saturday's Final Four game as the No. 1-ranked defense on KenPom, as the Cougars held the Blue Devils to just one made field goal in the final 10:30 of the game while causing that costly game-changing turnover on the inbound pass.
Duke led by as much as 14 at the 8:17 mark of the second half. The Blue Devils' offense underwent two extended droughts without a field goal in the second half, a near six-minute stretch that was ended by a Flagg 3-pointer and then a 3:03 stretch to end the game.
"I thought we had some good looks, (just) didn't finish. Have to give Houston a ton of credit," Scheyer told Wolfson. "I'm not about to hang our head. This is part of it. You have to handle the wins and you have to handle the losses too. ... We felt like we were the best team and the best team tonight was Houston."
Cooper Flagg has controversial foul
The finish to Duke and Houston's game wasn't without controversy. Houston sent Duke's Proctor to the foul line with 19.6 seconds left in the game, with the Blue Devils hoping to extend what was then a 67-66 lead. However, Proctor missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Flagg was called for a controversial foul that sent J'Wan Roberts to the foul line.
He sunk both of his free throws on the one-and-one, giving Houston the lead.
Flagg was unable to hit a float-away jumper and, following another two Houston foul shots, the Blue Devils missed on a desperation 3-point attempt to tie the game and try to win it in overtime.
L.J. Cryer stats for Houston
Wooden Award finalist L.J. Cryer led the Cougars in points with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Flagg led the Blue Devils with 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting and likely head off to the
Houston is now heading to its first national championship game since 1984, and the program's second title game appearance. The Cougars are 0-2 in the national championship game of the men's NCAA Tournament.
A win on Monday against Florida would make Sampson the oldest coach to win March Madness, a feat that would almost certainly book his ticket to the Hall of Fame, as he has turned the Cougars into one of the preeminent programs in the country over his 10-year tenure in Houston.
Duke ends the season at 35-4 overall, its most wins in a single-season since 2021-22.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How did Duke basketball collapse against Houston in Final Four?
Continue reading...
