With three minutes left in the second semifinal game of the 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, the general consensus was that we were going to see a Duke/Florida championship game on Monday night. The Blue Devils had a commanding nine point lead of 64-55 at San Antonio’s Alamodome, when the Cougars a comeback for the ages. In the final 183 seconds of action, the Cougars had a 15-3 advantage en route to an amazing 70-67 win. I, like many of you, ripped up my March Madness bracket, and wondered how on the planet I could lose to my good friend’s teenage son who actually picked the Cougars to win the tournament three weeks ago!
Inside look at the comeback
We first saw greatness from Tel Aviv-born Emmanuel Sharp of Spring Hill, Florida. Sharp, whose father is from Israel, and whose mother is from Toronto, was the Cougars star as he scored nine unanswered points for Houston in a span of 92 seconds. He made four free throws, one layup, and a three point shot. The basket made from downtown came with 33 seconds left and pulled the Cougars to within three points at 67-64 Duke.
Still with just over half a second left, the Blue Devils were still in good shape. That is when Cougars guard Mylik Wilson stole a Duke pass attempt. Wilson missed a three point shot. However with 25 seconds left, Cougars forward Joseph Tugler of Monroe, Louisiana collected the offensive rebound, and made a tip shot to pull Houston within a single point at 67-66 Duke.
The Blue Devils were then fouled, but missed their free throw. We then had a Cooper Flagg foul which led to two free throws made by J’Wan Roberts of Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, and a Tyrese Proctor foul which led to two free throws made by LJ Cryer of New Orleans, Louisiana to complete the scoring.
Houston will now face a Gators team that beat Auburn 79-73. This was the first ever all-SEC matchup in Final Four history.
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