Houston stuns Duke in historic Final Four comeback, advances to first national championship game in 41 years

The Cougars scored the last nine points in the final 33 seconds to pull off an all-time shocker vs. the Blue Devils

No. 1 seed Houston is advancing to Monday's national title game against Florida after recording a stunning 70-67 comeback win over No. 1 seed Duke. Houston forward J'Wan Roberts knocked down two free throws with 19 seconds left to help his team take a one-point lead, and LJ Cryer hit two more free throws to seal the win.

Houston ended the game on a 9-0 run in the last 33 seconds.  

Houston trailed by 14 points with 8:17 remaining before completing the improbable comeback win. Cryer scored a team-high 26 points, and Emanuel Sharp added 16 in the victory. Houston will play for the program's first national title against the Gators.

Duke star Cooper Flagg scored a team-high 27 points, while fellow star Kon Knueppel added 16 in the loss.

OH MY GOODNESS 😱#MarchMadness https://t.co/jShQOOUatG pic.twitter.com/iqBNZKjwTH

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

[Apr 6, 2025 at 12:32 am ET · Cameron Salerno]

The Flagg era is likely over

The Cooper Flagg era at Duke is (more than likely) over. Flagg, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is expected to head to the professional level, which marks the end of a storybook season that saw him capture National Player of the Year honors as a freshman. Flagg will be one of the best one-and-done players in the modern era, but how his Duke tenure (likely) ended and will be remembered as a massive "what if?"

The Duke 2024 recruiting class is one of the best in the modern recruiting era, but again, it will be remembered as a "what if?" Only one team gets to win the title in the end, but Duke was playing like the best team in the NCAA Tournament before Houston willed its way to a win. 

Next stop for Flagg? The NBA Draft.

[Apr 6, 2025 at 12:26 am ET · Cameron Salerno]

A monumental win for Houston

FINAL: (1) Houston 70, (1) Duke 67

Call it an incredible comeback by Houston or one of the biggest collapses in Final Four history. The result is the same.

This win for Houston, which puts the Cougars in the national title game for the first time since 1984, should be remembered as the biggest win in program history. Houston trailed by 14 points with just over 8 minutes remaining and closed out the game with grit and toughness that embodies everything Kelvin Sampson preaches. Houston is on the brink of winning a national title for the first time in program history. Sampson is also on the verge of winning game No. 800 as a college coach. What better way to do it than by winning the national title?

[Apr 5, 2025 at 11:51 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Houston pulls off stunning win over Duke

FINAL: (1) Houston 70, (1) Duke 67

No. 1 seed Houston is advancing to Monday's national title game against Florida after recording a stunning 70-67 comeback win over No. 1 seed Duke. Houston forward J'Wan Roberts knocked down two free throws with 19 seconds left to help his team take a one-point lead, and LJ Cryer hit two more free throws to seal the win.

Houston ended the game on a 9-0 run in the last 33 seconds.  

Houston trailed by 14 points with 8:17 remaining before completing the improbable comeback win. Cryer scored a team-high 26 points, and Emanuel Sharp added 16 in the victory. Houston will play for the program's first national title against the Gators.

Duke star Cooper Flagg scored a team-high 27 points, while fellow star Kon Knueppel added 16 in the loss.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 11:23 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Coming down to the wire

LATE 2H: (1) Duke 59, (1) Houston 55

Houston has been relentless during the last five minutes. The Cougars are on a 10-0 run and the Duke lead is down to four with 3:44 remaining. Duke hasn't scored in over four minutes and has also missed its last six shot attempts from the floor. Duke will be shooting free throws out of the final media timeout of the night.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 11:16 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Can Houston make it close down the stretch?

MID 2H: (1) Duke 59, (1) Houston 51

Houston is currently on a 6-0 run over the last 1:36. Duke has missed its last four field goal attempts and hasn't scored from the floor in over four minutes. Flagg is up to a team-high 22 points, while Cryer has 24. The final 6:26 in regulation should be interesting.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 11:07 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Uzan picks up another foul

MID 2H: (1) Duke 58, (1) Houston 45

Remember when I mentioned foul trouble a few moments ago? Well, Uzan just picked up his fourth foul with 8:17 remaining in regulation and will head to the bench. Uzan is one of Houston's best scorers, so we will see how long Kelvin Sampson keeps his star guard on the bench.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 10:58 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Two players in foul trouble on Houston

MID 2H: (1) Duke 54, (1) Houston 42

Houston guard Milos Uzan and big man Ja'Vier Francis are playing with three fouls. Uzan sat for a chunk of the first half after picking up two quick fouls. Uzan was scoreless until he knocked down a 3-pointer in the final moments of the first half. The foul situation will be one to monitor.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 10:50 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Cryer is carrying Houston

EARLY 2H: (1) Duke 50, (1) Houston 42

Houston star guard LJ Cryer has 18 points tonight. The rest of his team has 24. He is doing everything he can to keep his team in this game, but Duke keeps making big shots to extend the lead. Flagg and Knueppel just knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead back to eight.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 10:19 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Duke in control vs. Houston

HALF: (1) Duke 34, (1) Houston 28

We are only 20 minutes away from finalizing the national championship matchup. After going down 6-5 in the opening 5 minutes of play, Duke has regained control and will head into the locker room with a 34-28 advantage over No. 1 seed Houston.

The star of the first half from San Antonio has been Duke star freshman Kon Knueppel, who scored a team-high 12 points. Duke superstar Cooper Flagg finished the first half with eight points, four rebounds and two blocks. Flagg had an acrobatic And-1 layup in the final minutes.

Houston star guard Milos Uzan scored only three points in the first half and only logged 11 minutes due to foul trouble. Houston guard LJ Cryer has a team-high 12 points. The winner of this game faces No. 1 seed Florida in Monday's national title game.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 10:10 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Duke is on a run

LATE 1H: (1) Duke 28, (1) Houston 17

Duke is on a 10-2 run the last three minutes after Houston cut the Blue Devils' lead to three. Knueppel is up to a team-high 12 points, while Duke superstar Cooper Flagg has five points, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Houston star guard Milos Uzan has logged just nine minutes due to foul trouble in the first half.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 9:59 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Here comes Houston

MID 1H: (1) Duke 18, (1) Houston 15

Houston is on a 6-0 run over the last 1:13 to cut Duke's lead to three. The Blue Devils have missed their last five shots and haven't scored in almost three minutes since going up by nine points with 10:16 left in the first half. Houston has more rebounds (16-13) than Duke so far.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 9:51 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Knueppel has been key for Duke

EARLY 1H: (1) Duke 16, (1) Houston 9

Duke star Kon Knueppel is up to a team-high nine points during the first nine minutes of game action. Knueppel, Cooper Flagg (five points) and Tyrese Proctor (two) are the only three Duke players who have scored. Only three players (LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Mylik Wilson) have scored for Houston midway through the first half.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 9:36 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Different start from last game

EARLY 1H: (1) Houston 6, (1) Duke 5

The opening four minutes of Duke vs. Houston is drastically different than what happened in the first national semifinal game a few hours ago. This game has been a slugfest early. Houston is 2 of 10 from the floor, while Duke has missed its first three shot attempts from the field until Kon Knueppel broke the drought with a 3-pointer.

[Apr 5, 2025 at 8:42 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Expert predictions for NCAA Tournament Final Four, national champion

Five months of college basketball's glorious season will meet its end this week as all four No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament -- Auburn, Florida, Duke and Houston -- will meet up in San Antonio, Texas, to finish off March Madness with a star-studded Final Four.

It's the first time since 2008 all four top seeds are left standing in the final weekend of the tournament in a near-guarantee that goodness awaits us in the final three games of the 2024-25 season. 

Final Four 2025 picks: Expert predictions for March Madness, NCAA Tournament, national champion

Kyle Boone

[Apr 5, 2025 at 8:30 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Ranking every starter for the Final Four teams from No. 1-20

No. 1 seed Duke is the favorite to win the 2025 NCAA championship this week in San Antonio. An inspection of its starting lineup in comparison to the other three Final Four teams -- led by Cooper Flagg -- suggests its frontrunner status is warranted.

The 35-3 Blue Devils have not one, not two, not three but four starters who I consider among the 10 best among the 20 starters across Houston, Duke, Auburn and Florida. The lowest-ranked player from Duke: Sion James, an All-ACC defender and quintessential glue guy. He comes in at No. 12.

March Madness 2025: Ranking every starter for the Final Four teams from No. 1-20

Kyle Boone

[Apr 5, 2025 at 8:15 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

Duke trio, headlined by Cooper Flagg, among five NBA Draft prospects to follow in San Antonio

The 2025 NBA Draft is less than three months away, so it's time to familiarize yourself with some upcoming prospects playing in the Final Four this weekend. A handful of players projected to go in the first round are in action this week while their respective teams look to take one step closer to cutting down the nets in San Antonio on April 7.

The headliner of the upcoming draft class, Duke superstar Cooper Flagg, will be in action on Saturday when his team faces fellow No. 1 seed Houston. Flagg projects as the surefire No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and recently earned National Player of the Year honors by CBS Sports.

2025 Final Four: Duke trio, headlined by Cooper Flagg, among five NBA Draft prospects to follow in San Antonio

Cameron Salerno

[Apr 5, 2025 at 8:00 pm ET · Cameron Salerno]

How Duke and Houston built their loaded Final Four rosters

The four teams participating in the Final Four this weekend in San Antonio are a perfect microcosm of the new era in college basketball. While a team such as Duke has built its roster with former blue-chip recruits such as Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor and Khaman Maluach, other teams such as Florida have hit on the margins to create a team just two games away from winning the title. 

Since Duke coach Jon Scheyer took over the program for Mike Krzyzewski in 2022, he has maintained the excellence on the recruiting trail that made the Blue Devils one of the best teams in the sport for decades. Flagg headlined the No. 1 overall recruiting class in the 2024 cycle, and Duke's 2023 recruiting class finished second only behind Kentucky.

March Madness 2025: How Duke, Florida, Auburn and Houston built their loaded Final Four rosters

Cameron Salerno

[Apr 5, 2025 at 7:45 pm ET · Matt Norlander]

'An awesome Robin': Kon Knueppel helped Cooper Flagg — and made this Duke team one of the best we've ever seen

"Some food, a gun and Kon Knueppel."

Before last week's Sweet 16 game against Arizona, Duke grad transfer Neal Begovich toured the locker room, microphone in hand, and conducted mock interviews as a means of content creation for the team's in-house media enterprise. He playfully harassed freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, ending with a fun throwaway question: What three things are you bringing with you in an apocalypse? 

That's when Flagg jokingly (but not really?) said the seven words atop of this story. 

'An awesome Robin': Kon Knueppel helped Cooper Flagg — and made this Duke team one of the best we've ever seen

Matt Norlander

[Apr 5, 2025 at 7:32 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Key stats to know ahead of Duke-Houston

The finale of Saturday night's CBS doubleheader features Duke and Houston in a contrast between a college basketball powerhouse that has dominated the last decades and an upstart in Houston trying to get over the hump for its first-ever national championship.

Here's what you need to know.

• Duke is making its 18th Final Four appearance, which is third all-time behind North Carolina and UCLA
• Houston is making its seventh Final Four appearance and first since 2021
• Houston is 2-4 in national semifinal games with all four losses coming to the eventual national champions (1967 UCLA, 1968 UCLA, 1982 UNC and 2021 Baylor)
• Duke is 11-6 in national semifinal games and 8-2 in such games since 1990. 
• Duke is seeking its 12th national championship game appearance, which would tie for the second-most all-time. Its last appearance came in 2015 when it defeated Wisconsin and won the championship. 

[Apr 5, 2025 at 7:30 pm ET · Dennis Dodd]

Duke's Jon Scheyer and Houston's Kelvin Sampson meet in Final Four after putting own stamps on their programs

SAN ANTONIO – Before Duke coach Jon Scheyer coached in his first official game after taking over for Mike Krzyzewski, he flew his team to Houston to play in a secret preseason scrimmage. 

Scheyer intentionally sought out Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars for his first career "game." 

"I wanted the toughest test for our team," said Scheyer, at 37, 32 years younger than Sampson. "I just believed Houston would be the toughest test. They're the toughest test because of their coach. Their coach is as good as it gets in college basketball period. I admired from afar how they defended." 

Duke's Jon Scheyer and Houston's Kelvin Sampson meet in Final Four after putting own stamps on their programs

Dennis Dodd

[Apr 5, 2025 at 7:15 pm ET · David Cobb]

As Lumbee Tribe looks for federal recognition, Kelvin Sampson is 'carrying the banner' for more than Houston

SAN ANTONIO — The state of North Carolina will have plenty of Houston fans on Saturday night as the Cougars take on Duke in a highly anticipated Final Four battle between No. 1 seeds. Most of those from the Tar Heel State favoring the team in red will do so as North Carolina fans hoping to see the rival Blue Devils get eliminated. 

But two hours to the south of Tobacco Road, along the South Carolina border in Robeson County, the cheers for Houston will come with far more sincere motives. 

In the Lumbee Tribe's hub of Pembroke, population 2,832, they will be rooting on Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, a local hero from this tightly knit and often overlooked community.

Houston's Kelvin Sampson is 'carrying the banner' for his Lumbee Tribe in quest for federal recognition

David Cobb

[Apr 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm ET · David Cobb]

How Friday at the Final Four turned into Cooper Flagg's coronation, a 'regular kid' who is 'OK at basketball'

SAN ANTONIO — The two best players in college basketball are each still standing ahead of Saturday's national semifinal matchups, but Duke star Cooper Flagg has taken a decisive edge on Auburn's Johni Broome in the race to see who can assemble the most hardware.

How Friday at the Final Four turned into Cooper Flagg's coronation, a 'regular kid' who is 'OK at basketball'

David Cobb

[Apr 5, 2025 at 6:45 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Duke vs. Houston prediction

For all the deserved attention that goes to Houston's defense there is the somewhat less discussed aspect of Duke's defense, which ranks fifth nationally overall in defensive efficiency and second only to Houston among Final Four participants. This is a group that just held Alabama 25 points below their season scoring average in an 85-65 win and have allowed more than 70 points just twice in their last 15 games (since Feb. 12).  

Now, there are outcomes where Houston can win the game and still end up going under this team total but even those scenarios speak to a game that is played at a slower pace with a grinding style. Duke's length at the rim is set up to limit Houston's ability to get easy buckets, which in turn will contribute to lower scoring overall. Pick: Houston Team Total Under 66.5

Where to watch Duke vs. Houston in 2025 Final Four: TV channel, tip time, odds, spread, prediction, pick

Cameron Salerno

[Apr 5, 2025 at 5:47 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

Coach K in the building

Hall of Fame Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is in San Antonio and inside the Alamadome to take in Duke's game tonight vs. Houston in the Final Four.

Coach K has famously not been seen at any Duke game during this NCAA Tournament run. He has of course been a constant presence around the Duke program led by his former pupil, Jon Scheyer, and maintains an office at the university. But first time for him to be on hand taking in his former program in person during this March Madness.