SI

Houston Stuns Duke in Final 40 Seconds to Win Instant Final Four Classic

The comeback no one saw coming.

Tyler Lauletta

Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts celebrates in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils.
Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts celebrates in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Houston Cougars pulled off one of the most unbelievable comebacks in March Madness history on Saturday night, closing the game on a 9–0 run over the final 42 seconds of play to pull out a 70–67 victory that absolutely no one saw coming.

The men’s college basketball national championship is officially set. The Cougars will face off against the Florida Gators for the title on Monday.

dark. More. SI March Madness. Men's and Women's NCAA Tournament News, Features and Analysis

Before the Cougars’ unlikely comeback, the Blue Devils were in control, jumping out to an early lead, with Kon Knueppel putting up 12 points in the first half to make it 34–28 at the break.

Houston started out the second half shooting hot, drilling six of their first eight shots from the field, but just as they found their stride, so did Cooper Flagg.

Flagg showed why he just became only the fourth freshman to ever win the Wooden Award, making big plays on both sides of the ball to help Duke hold fast to their lead.

But Houston refused to go down without a fight, going on a 10–0 run that cut their deficit to just four points, 59–55, with five minutes to play.

Duke went seven minutes without a field goal to let the Cougars back in, and once the door was cracked open, Houston smashed its way right through it.

After cutting the lead to 67–64, Houston made the biggest defensive play of the game, stealing an inbounds pass from the Blue Devils. Mylik Wilson missed his three attempt off of the steal, but Joseph Tugler came up with a huge offensive rebound and put-back dunk.

Houston fouled on the ensuing possession to put Duke to the line for a one-and-one. Tyrese Proctor missed his first shot from the line, and Cooper Flagg was called for a foul going over the top.

Suddenly, Houston was heading to the line with a chance to tie, or take the lead.

Houston’s J'Wan Roberts made what have to have been the two most stressful free throws of his life to give the Cougars a shocking 68–67 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Flagg tried to find his redemption with a go-ahead shot of his own, and couldn’t come up with it, allowing Houston to hold on for an unbelievable win.

This is March. Well, April.

The Houston Cougars are going to the title game.

More March Madness on Sports Illustrated

manual

Published
Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

Home/College Basketball