
Houston vs Duke Final Four: World reacts to Cougars return to NCAA final
Houston vs Duke Final Four: World reacts to Cougars return to NCAA final
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Players and legends explain why this Final Four could be an all-timer
Duke, Auburn, Houston and Florida all made it to the Final Four as No. 1 seeds and they explain why you shouldn't look at that as a bad thing.
Sports Seriously
The Houston Cougars are headed back to the NCAA men's basketball national championship game for the first time since 1984.
Houston rallied in the second half to put away Duke and secure the 70-67 Final Four victory.
The Cougars are still in search of their first national title, reaching the title game in 1983 and 1984 before finishing as runner-ups. If Houston were to win the title, Kelvin Sampson would become the oldest coach to win the sport's top prize.
L.J. Cryer had 26 points and five rebounds in Houston's victory. J'Wan Roberts finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Duke was considered as the popular pick (25%) to win it all on ESPN's Bracket Challenge.
Here's what others had to say about the game.
Houston vs. Duke: Final Four reaction to Cougars comeback

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Associated Press
35 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Astros take lead on wild pitch and defeat Guardians 5-3 in 10 innings
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jake Meyers scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, Isaac Paredes drove in an insurance run and the Houston Astros defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-3 in 10 innings on Saturday. Yainer Diaz had a two-run homer in the sixth as the Astros won for the fifth time in six games. Cleveland's José Ramírez had two hits, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and extended his on-base streak to a career-best 33 games. Steven Kwan added three hits, but the Guardians lost their third straight. Meyers was the automatic runner in the 10th. He advanced to third on Jeremy Peña's grounder to first and scored when a slider by Hunter Gaddis (0-1) on an 0-2 count was low and outside. Paredes then drove in Jacob Melton with a base hit to right field. Cleveland had runners on first and second with two out in the 10th but Bennett Sousa struck out Jhonkensy Noel to end the game for his first save of the season. Josh Hader (2-0) got the win. Houston starter Hunter Brown, who was trying to become the first pitcher in the majors to reach nine wins this season, went 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run with nine strikeouts. Key moment Kwan led off the seventh inning with a walk before Ramírez tied it at 3-3 when he lined Shawn Dubin's changeup into the right field stands for his team-leading 12th homer of the season. Key stat Peña extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI infield single in the fifth inning. His career long is 14 games, which he had earlier this season. Up next Cleveland right-hander Tanner Bibee (4-6, 3.89 ERA) is 2-0 in day games this season. Houston has not named a starter, but left-hander Brandon Walter was added to the taxi squad on Saturday. ___ AP MLB:


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Report: Mavericks schedule visit with Cooper Flagg ahead of 2025 NBA draft
Report: Mavericks schedule visit with Cooper Flagg ahead of 2025 NBA draft The Mavericks have Cooper Flagg scheduled for a pre-draft visit to Dallas, @TheSteinLine has learned. Flagg, Knicks, Suns and more from the NBA grapevine ... all here in my latest around-the-league notes: — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 7, 2025 Projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is reportedly scheduled to meet with the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line on Substack. Flagg led Duke to the Final Four, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks on 38.5% shooting from 3-point range. He became the 22nd player in program history to be named a consensus first-team All-American. The Player of the Year is set to visit the Mavericks later this month to get to know team personnel before the organization selects him with the first pick on June 25. Jason Kidd said last month that he believes the Mavericks are a great situation for Flagg, with their mixture of established veterans and up-and-coming players. He believes Flagg will be able to step in and make an immediate contribution. The 6-foot-8 forward has drawn comparisons to former Duke legend and Hall of Famer Grant Hill because of his size, athleticism and ability to affect games in various ways. Former coach Mike Krzyzewski even called him the best freshman to ever play with the Blue Devils. The Mavericks have the first pick in the draft for only the second time in franchise history. After previously trading franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić, the Mavericks will soon meet with their next once-in-a-generation player in Flagg.

3 hours ago
Kyle Johnson drives in 5 in Duke's 7-4 win over Murray State; Blue Devils seek first CWS since 1961
DURHAM, N.C. -- Kyle Johnson drove in five runs to power Duke's 7-4 victory over Murray State on Saturday in the first game of the Durham Super Regional. The Blue Devils are one win from reaching the College World Series for the first time since 1961. Game 2 is Sunday. Johnson, a .228 hitter in 57 at-bats coming in, had two doubles and a home run among his four hits and scored twice. Trailing 2-0 in the third inning, Duke tied it when Jake Berger drew a leadoff walk and scored on Johnson's two-run home run to center field. Johnson and Berger figured in the Blue Devils' three-run fourth inning. Johnson drove in two with a bases-loaded double that sent Berger to third base. Berger then scored on a wild pitch by Nic Schutte (8-4). In the sixth, Johnson doubled to drive in one run and later scored on a double by Ben Rounds. Duke managed only six hits — four by Johnson — but the Blue Devils benefited from eight walks. Dom Decker had four of Murray State's nine hits and drove in two runs. Duke starter Owen Proksch (4-3) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. Reid Easterly pitched three scoreless innings for his fifth save. Duke (42-19) is playing in the super regionals for the fourth time. The Racers (42-15) are making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first in the super regionals. ___