All year, Kelvin Sampsons Houston Cougars have been epitomized by grit. The teams practices say it all.
Whether it be drills of fighting for offensive rebounds or players diving for loose balls, Kelvin Sampsons squad has mastered the fundamentals and little details.
So when the Cougars were down nine with just over two minutes to play, they seemed unfazed and continued chipping away at the seemingly insurmountable 64-55 Duke lead.
It started with Emanuel Sharp gathering a full head of steam and blowing past SLAM cover star Cooper Flagg for an easy layup, cutting the deficit to seven. Then after a Joseph Tugler steal, Sharp drew a foul in the paint from Maliq Brown before calmly sinking both shots from the line.
After Flagg and Sharp responded with two free throws each, Tugler reached in at the ball on the ensuing inbound, resulting in a technical free throw for Duke. Kon Knueppel stepped up to the line and calmly sank the technical free throw with over a minute to play. Knueppels free throw would be the last points Duke would score for the remainder of the game.
As Duke ran clock, Knueppel drove in the paint for a layup, but was met by Tugler, who launched the ball off the backboard.
Houston hurried down the floor and found Sharp, who pulled up from deep to cut the lead to three.
The Cougars then switched to a full-court man-to-man press on the inbound. Sion James tried to find Flagg, but his errant pass was tipped and stolen by Mylik Wilson. Wilson retreated to the three-point line but missed long, leading to a Tugler putback dunk that sent the Cougar bench into a frenzy. Tuglers dunk cut the deficit to a single point.
When Houston intentionally fouled Tyrese Proctor for a one-and-one, Proctors first free-throw hit back iron, leading to a controversial over-the-back call on Flagg, who fought with JWan Roberts for the rebound.
With Houston in the bonus, Roberts calmly sank both of his free throws to give the Cougars a 68-67 lead.
Roberts then got it done on the defensive end, putting a tough contest on Flaggs go-ahead turnaround jumper with seconds remaining on the clock.
After two free throws made the contest a three-point game, Dukes last gasp effort sailed over the basketball to seal their fate.
With Houstons last effort comeback, the Cougars made their first National Championship game since 1984.
L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 26 points, while Sharp finished with 16 points. Roberts posted a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 boards.
Flagg led the Blue Devils with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Knueppel finished with 16 points. No other Duke player finished the game in double-digit scoring.
Duke controlled the majority of the game, capturing the lead at the 14-minute mark in the first half after Flagg made a triple to give Duke an 8-6 lead. The Blue Devils built on that lead throughout the half and entered halftime with a six-point advantage.
Duke continued to pile on points but was unable to pull away from the Cougars. After a Proctor free throw gave Duke a 14-point lead with eight minutes to play, Cryer responded with a triple, free throw and a jumper to cut the lead to single digits.
Houston added two more layups from Roberts and Tugler to bring the deficit to four points. However, Proctor responded with two free throws and Flagg drilled a triple from the right wing to give Duke a 64-55 lead with three minutes to play.
Houston then embarked on their 15-3 run to close out the game and complete the comeback victory.
Dukes inexperience in close games and dealing with the Cougars full-court pressure proved costly, as missed opportunities and turnovers led to the Blue Devils scoring only three points in the final three minutes of the game.
Houston shot efficiently from beyond the arc, draining 10 triples at a 45.5% clip, while Duke only made seven. However, the Blue Devils were more efficient from the field, shooting 39.6% compared to Houstons 37.7%.
With the win, Houston will play the Florida Gators for a chance to win the programs first National Championship in history, having previously lost back-to-back title games in 1983 and 1984.
