There was a monkey on (1) Houston’s back entering its Final Four contest against Duke. They’d been sitting on the doorstep of the national championship game for over 40 years and lost seven straight Final Fours — the most by any DI program in the country. And with three minutes left in the matchup, the Cougars were nearing eight, trailing 64-55 with 2:15 remaining.
Yet, with a 3-pointer, intense defense and a bit of luck, Houston snapped its seven-game Final Four losing streak, mounting a historic 11-1 comeback to stun (1) Duke 70-67. They reach their first national championship game since 1984.
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
Although LJ Cryer had 26 points up to that 2:15 mark, Emanuel Sharp started the road to recovery, making a second-chance layup and two free throws. The Blue Devils’ Cooper Flagg, who led all scorers with 27, made consecutive free throws on the following possession, Sharp made two more afterwards, cutting it to 66-61 with 1:14 left.
Duke’s Kon Knueppel returned the favor with a free throw, but Sharp wasn’t done yet, hitting another three to make it a one-possession game with 33 seconds left. And that’s when the madness ensued.
Houston forced a turnover on the Blue Devils’ inbound pass, leading to a second-chance dunk by Joseph Tugler, and after Duke’s Tyrese Proctor missed a one-and-one free throw on the opposite end, Flagg fouled J’Wan Roberts to send him to the charity stripe with 19 seconds left.
Roberts knocked down both to give Houston a 68-67 lead, and Flagg couldn’t respond, missing a fadeaway jumper followed by Proctor’s last-second three on the next possession. Duke ended the game with zero field goals in the last 10 minutes.
Houston will face (1) Florida on Monday, Apr. 7 at 8:50 p.m. ET.
TALK ABOUT A COMEBACK. After stealing Duke’s inbounding that led to a putback dunk by Tugler, Flagg fouled Roberts to give Houston a one-and-one.
Roberts knocked down both free throws giving the Cougars a 68-67 lead with 17.2 seconds left.
WE’VE GOT A ONE-POINT GAME 🍿#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/nchj0ZBxiQ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Down six with less than 40 seconds left, Houston needed a bucket quickly. The Cougars’ sharpshooter Sharp answered the bell, knocking down a deep three to make it a one-possession game.
Sharp has scored Houston’s last nine points. Duke leads 67-64 with 32 seconds left.
IT’S A ONE-POSSESSION GAME 👀#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/bgzNqqTNvR
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Duke and Houston are separated by just five points with 1:27 remaining. The Blue Devils lead 64-59.
The Cougars went on a 10-0 run late in the second half to cut Duke’s lead down to four points, but after a much-needed timeout and guard Tyrese Proctor free throws, Flagg hit a corner three to up the Blue Devils lead to nine.
COOPER FLAGG. CORNER POCKET. 🎱#MarchMadness @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/EnPgDivjg3
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The Cougars have come back to life, going on a 10-0 run and cutting Duke’s lead down to just four points and trailing 59-55 with less than four minutes left.
The Blue Devils haven’t scored in the four-and-a-half minutes and their last field goal was at the 10:31 mark. Cryer has paced Houston during its scoring run, collecting the first six points. Big men forward Joseph Tugler and Roberts made back-to-back layups.
J’Wan Roberts brings the deficit down to just 6 👀#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/5EnhB0iD5L
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The Blue Devils are beginning to pull away, upping their lead to 14 with eight minutes left in the game and leading 59-48. Houston has missed seven of their last nine shots after a strong finish to the first half and start to the second.
Flagg and Knueppel lead the Blue Devils in scoring with 22 and 16, respectively. Guard Sion James has scored all seven of his points in the second half.
Before the media timeout, Cryer hit his second three of the half in hopes of jumpstarting a Cougars’ comeback. Houston leads the country in points allowed per game at 58.3.
Coop absorbs the contact and finishes at the rim 💪#MarchMadness @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/g6m1B0Ua0n
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The start of the second half has been the complete opposite of how the game started. Duke and Houston have found the bottom of the basket with ease.
Both teams have combined for 30 points and five threes, 16 by the Blue Devils and 14 by the Cougars, in the first six and half minutes. The main producers have been Houston’s Cryer and Duke’s Flagg. The former has six points and has 18 of the Cougars’ 42 points. Flagg has eight points, including a three and and-one layup.
Duke leads 50-42.
Milos Uzan getting crafty at the cup 🪄#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/sVAyyWVyBU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The Blue Devils lead Houston 34-28 at the break, paced by Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg’s 12 and eight points.
Both teams couldn’t pry the lid off the basket early, shooting a combined 1-13 in the first four minutes of the game. That didn’t last long, though, with Duke jumping out to a 14-8 lead created by a 9-2 run. At one point in the first half, Houston was 3-16 from the field.
The Blue Devils were on the doorstep of a double-digit lead when the Cougars woke up, producing a 6-0 lead and coming within three points. Duke eventually did reach a 12-point lead with 2:07 left in the half, but the two teams battled for leverage in the final minutes.
Cryer finished with 12 points for Houston, while guard Milos Uzan, the team’s leader in assists per game, was limited with two early fouls.
Here are each team’s stats from the first 20 minutes of play:
The Maine Event just submitted his entry for the craziest play of the game.
After missing a layup over Roberts, the loose ball ended up back in Flagg’s hands. With only Houston forward Ja’Vier Francis in between him and the basket, Flagg made a reverse, acrobatic finish that sent him to the line for one more.
Duke leads 31-19.
RIDICULOUS FINISH FROM COOPER FLAGG 😱#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/jEexF0sGdw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Nearing the nine-minute mark, the Blue Devils were on the verge of taking a double-digit lead — the first of the game and one of many this season for Duke.
The Houston stopped that from happening, though, going on a 6-0 run in less than a minute to cut the Blue Devils’ lead down to three. Forward J’Wan Roberts knocked down a free throw, followed by guard Emanuel Sharp’s 3-pointer and a left hook by Roberts over Flagg.
Duke called a timeout after Roberts’ basket, not scoring for the last two and a half minutes. The Blue Devils lead 18-15.
The Cougars turning defense to offense 👀#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/JPQiyii3ED
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
After a shaky start to the contest for both teams, the Blue Devils have woken up, going on a 9-2 run over a 2:45 span. They lead 14-8 with a little less than 12 minutes left in the half.
Although outrebounding Duke 11-7, Houston is shooting 3-15 from the field.
Guard Kon Knueppel leads the way for Blue Devils in scoring with seven points and forward Cooper Flagg has five. Flagg is responsible for the biggest play on the scoring run, throwing down a two-handed slam on a fast break.
COOPER FLAGG ALL THE WAY TO THE RIM 💪#MarchMadness @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/Vmea5BTOWU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Duke and Houston have struggled to find the bottom of the basket early, sitting at 4-2 in favor of the Cougars in the first four minutes of the contest.
Houston is 1/9 from the field, while the Blue Devils are 0/4 and two free throws. The only shot made was Houston guard LJ Cryer’s three-pointer.
LJ Cryer puts Houston on the board first 🎯#MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/mqta1Gv76m
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
The second Final Four contest between (1) Duke and (1) Houston is just minutes away. It features the nation’s top-rated offense and defense where each team has lost one game since Nov. 2024.
The winner will take on (1) Florida in the national championship on Monday, Apr. 7 at 8:50 p.m. ET.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights throughout the game.
Here are the starting lineups:
