While most of America had their lights off and pajamas on, San Antonio, Texas, was the place for a bedtime fairytale Saturday night.
The Houston Cougars faced off against the Duke Blue Devils in what would end in one of the most shocking finishes in Final Four college basketball history, winning 70-67 in the final seconds.
The perseverance of the Cougars seemed to hand the national championship game a new narrative: “Whoever wants it more.”
The Cougars trailed by 14 points with 8:17 remaining in the game. They sprinted off on a 10-0 scoring run to cut the lead to four.
Duke superstar Cooper Flagg, who will likely be a number one overall draft pick, hit a crushing three pointer which would look like the nail in the coffin with three minutes left.
But the Cougars’ defense would ultimately get the upper hand, holding the Blue Devils to just one field goal for the last 10:30 to advance to the national championship game.
Maybe worse for the blue blood program, they held a six-point lead with just 32 seconds left.
After a three pointer from Emmanuel Sharp and a put-back rim-stuff from Joseph Tugler, J’wan Roberts knocked down two cold-blooded free throws to give the Cougars a one-point lead with 19 seconds left.
Flagg could not sink a fadeaway jumper to potentially win the game and the Cougars eventually put a pitchfork through the hearts of the Blue Devils’ faithful fans.
Duke was the favorite in this matchup despite both teams being one seeds in the tournament. This Duke team was nothing different from what the program produces every year as one of the winningest teams in college basketball history.
The game was promoted as the country’s number one offense going against the country’s number one defense. The game was as advertised and the term “defense wins championships” was on full display.
The Florida Gators, who knocked off one seed Auburn Saturday night, will face the Cougars tonight at 8:50 p.m. on CBS with both teams’ head coaches seeking their first title.
