March Madness Magic! Houston Erases Deficit, Stuns Duke to Play for National Title

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After trailing by 14 points in the second half, L.J. Cryer and No. 1 Houston went on an incredible late run to stun No. 1 Duke and advance to the national championship game.

Monday night’s title game will now feature Houston against No. 1 Florida.

Duke led 59-45 with just over eight minutes left in the game as the Blue Devils looked to be headed to its first national championship game since 2015. But Cryer, who was a major reason the Cougars remained in striking distance, sparked a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points with five minutes left.

Even as the Blue Devils found a rhythm again, Houston didn’t give up. Emanuel Sharp hit a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game with 32 seconds left, and a steal and a bucket made it a one-point game with 20 seconds.

Houston fouled Tyrese Proctor and he couldn’t make the front end of the one-and-one. On the rebound, Flagg was called for an over-the-back foul to send J’Wan Roberts to the free throw line. He nailed both shots, and Flagg missed a shot in the lane on the ensuing possession. A pair of free throws from Cryer, who finished with a team-high 26, secured the win when Proctor’s wild shot from three at the buzzer missed.

The Cougars return to the national championship game for the first time since 1984. This will be the third time Houston has made the final, but will try to win its first title in program history. The 35-5 record extends the most wins in a season in Houston history, and extends its national-leading win streak to 18 games. The Cougars also got revenge on Duke after the Blue Devils eliminated Houston in the Sweet 16 last season.

Coincidentally, Sampson has 799 career wins and 299 at Houston; wins No. 800 and 300 in Houston would finally get him that elusive national championship.

The game started out how Houston wanted: physical while controlling the offensive glass. While it got plenty of second chance opportunities early, it struggled to put the ball in the net. Meanwhile, Flagg and Knueppel got the offense going quickly as Duke took a nine point lead midway through the first half.

Houston shook off the cobwebs and cut the deficit to three, only for the Blue Devil freshman to get back to scoring. A stellar and-one play from Flagg extended the lead to 12 points late in the first half.

Three-point shots started to hit for Houston as the second half began. The only problem was Duke matched it to maintain a double-digit lead. Flagg completely took over Duke’s offense and the Blue Devils led by as many as 14 points before Houston ended the game on a 25-8 run to pull off the incredible victory.