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SAN ANTONIO — Houston knocked off Duke in front of a crowd of 68,252 at the Alamodome Saturday, setting itself up for a matchup with Florida in Monday night’s championship game.
L.J Cryer led the Bobcats with 26 points in a dramatic victory over Cooper Flagg and the mighty Blue Devils.
The score was 70-67, decided in the final minutes by several defensive stands — earning a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd.
The University of Houston will now play for its first ever national title.
They face a team that has had its own share of comebacks as March Madness turned into April drama.
Earlier in the night, Florida mounted yet another come from behind victory against Auburn.
The Gators’ tough road to San Antonio included dramatic wins after trailing late against UConn in the second round and Texas Tech in the Elite 8.
This time around, they trailed Johni Broome and Auburn at the half before Walton Clayton Jr., who scored 34 points, led the Gators on a furious run to defeat SEC rival Auburn 79-73.
This is the first time the Gators are in the national championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
Their coach at the time, Billy Donovan, was in attendance at the Alamodome as he was honored for being tapped as a member of the 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame class.
Florida and Houston have not played since 1973. Houston has won both of their only two matchups.
This year’s Final Four featured all No. 1 seeds, including the highest rated offenses and defenses in tournament history.
