Houston beats Duke after improbable 9-0 run in final minute

All four No. 1 seeds are in the Final Four for the first time since 2008, making for a clash of titans on Saturday afternoon and evening for a right to go to the National Championship Game.

The second of the two battles was between the Duke Blue Devils and the Houston Cougars in what will go down as one of the wildest endings in Final Four history.

(1) HOUSTON IS #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOUND 🤩

The Cougars STORM back from 14 down to defeat (1) Duke 70-67 in a #MFinalFour CLASSIC 🔥 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/1Lt3B6B6qg

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025

The Blue Devils and Cougars have only matched up one other time in their histories, and it was in a familiar setting.

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Duke and Houston are rematching after they played in last year’s NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 round. The Cougars lost a key piece during the battle when Jamal Shead went down late in the first half and didn’t return.

Duke went on to win a low-scoring affair 54-51 to move onto the Elite Eight, putting the Cougars on a revenge path.

First Half

Compared to the other game of the day between Florida and Auburn, the pace and scoring in the Duke vs Houston nightcap was down. This was to be expected with Houston’s No. 1 statistical defense on the floor. Matching it was Duke’s top-10 offense led by projected No.1 overall pick Cooper Flagg

With five minutes gone in the first half, there were only 11 points total as the Blue Devils and Cougars settled into the game.

Duke was the first side to find their legs on the offensive end as they went on a 10-3 run as the first half hit the midway point, putting the Blue Devils up 18-9.

Houston then went on a 6-0 run, just to receive a counter punch with Duke going on an 8-0 run of their own.

After the run, Duke led by 11 and maintained a similar margin down the stretch. In the last two minutes, however, the Cougars made a push, making three-pointers on three consecutive possessions.

The hot shooting for Houston in the dying moments of the half cut Duke’s lead to six points at the halftime break.

Kon Knueppel for Duke and LJ Cryer for Houston led all scorers with 12 points each.

Second Half

The second half began with Houston punching hard to close the gap, but it seemed that Duke had an answer each time.

Both teams had three buckets in the first three minutes of the half, but Houson’s LJ Cryer had it working from beyond the arc, knocking down two from downtown, cutting the lead down to five.

While it was a valiant effort to cut into the deficit, five would be as close as Houston got for a long stretch. Following Cryer’s hot shooting, the Blue Devils shifted up and went on a 16-9 run to lead by 14 with less than 12 minutes to go.

They would maintain that lead until the 8:17 mark, but the Blue Devils went cold. It was more than seven minutes without a field goal for Duke, finally putting the ball through the bucket again until there were only three minutes left in the game.

During that drought, Houston crawled back into the game, cutting the Blue Devils’ lead to four, but a big three-pointer from Cooper Flagg put the lead back at nine.

COOPER FLAGG. CORNER POCKET. 🎱#MarchMadness @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/EnPgDivjg3

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025

 

From there, it was all downhill for Duke. With 1:14 remaining, Kon Knueppel hit a free throw to put Duke up 61-67, and that would be the last time the Blue Devils would score.

The final minute came down to Houston’s full-court pressure and Duke’s free throw making ability.

Emanuel Sharp buried a three for Houston to cut the deficit to three, and then the Cougars turned on the press. Duke turned the ball over on the inbound pass, leading to a putback dunk by Joseph Tugler to make the deficit one.

Finally, Duke was able to inbound the ball, and Tyrese Proctor was fouled. He missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Cooper Flagg was called for a foul on the rebound attempt.

🤯🤯🤯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/w9pDCcb7Dx

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025

J’wan Roberts made both free throws and put Houston in the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Flagg went on to miss the go-ahead fadeaway and Duke was forced to foul. The issuing free throws put the Cougars up 70-67, which would end up being the final score.

From down six with 34 seconds to play, Houston came back from the dead to stun the Duke Blue Devils.

ESPN Analytics gave Houston just a 7.5% chance to win the game with around 40 seconds to play, but just like their game against Purdue in the Sweet 16, they simply found a way to pull it out in the end, closing the game on a 9-0 run in the final 33 seconds.

WHAT A FEELING FOR HOUSTON 🤯

SCENES AS THE BUZZER SOUNDED ON AN INSANE COMEBACK 🚨#MarchMadness #MFinalFour @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/UK4ZSyPtRi

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025

The Houston Cougars In The National Championship Game

The Houston Cougars will appear in their third ever National Championship Game, with their last trip coming in 1984. However, because of past failed attempts in the natty against North Carolina State and Georgetown, the Cougars will be going for their first-ever title on Monday. They will face the Florida Gators.