Down 14 and comes back to win by 3 points. Houston beats Flagg and Duke. A defensive game for sure saw Houston get hot and Duke cool off. Great comeback! Coach Samson has class by mentioning the league for preparing them for this moment.
The commentators said Duke made one shot in the last 10 minutes.
Did you see the Houston coach give some love to his fellow BIG12 teams? He said playing in the BIG12 prepared them for their run in the tourney. Loved it!
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I recorded the second half but saw Houston looking pretty bad in the first. As I watched the second half unfold it was clear to me that the officials were favoring Duke… perhaps not intentionally but at this level of officiating I couldn’t believe how obvious it was. Houston did not look great but they were fouled several times with no call while Duke got several calls and many free throws while Houston did not get the same calls. The announcers even commented on it, not specifically about the disparity, just the fact that there was lots of contact on Houston players but no whistle.
So yes, Houston made a good comeback but in my opinion it was more about Duke giving it away because they had the score on their side, they had the refs on their side and they had the NCAA on their side. The Houston comeback was very rare in the world of basketball. It took Houston staying close and giving themselves a chance but moreso it took Duke absolutely blowing multiple opportunities to put the game away for Houston to win.
Strange game but no complaints. Houston deserved the win because Duke gave it to them.
I disagree a little, I think Houston turned on it smothering defense late in the 2nd half and Duke had no clear way to break it, which caused Duke players to make some really dumb decisions.
The play where Houston went ahead, was because of a questionable call on Flagg for reaching over the back, which in my opinion was a “no call”. I only watched the last 3 minutes, which basically took 30 minutes to play. LOL.
Houston played smothering defense the last 3 minutes and deserved the win! However the foul called on Flagg that gave Houston 2 ft and the lead was idiotic and imo was an example of sub par officiating
Based on the calls that had been made up to that point I believe it was absolutley a foul. The officials got caught making so many bad calls against Houston that they were compelled to call fouls against Duke to make up for it. Should that call have been made? Maybe or maybe not. It was like the call that went Saunders way against Arizona late where he got two free throws and won the game. Should it have been called? Maybe or maybe not. The fact that Arizona had been to the foul line multiple times on questionable calls before that kind of plays into it.
Flaggs shot to take the lead wasn’t even close. He got a clear look and had an open, short shot and it barely made it to the front of the rim. That was the MVP in college ball this year and he choked. I saw him choke a few times early in the season as well. It’s lack of experience, not lack of talent.
If you look at the rosters of the teams Houston’s 8 man rotation was all JRs and SRs except Tugler who was a sophomore. Duke started 3 freshman and their was another one in their 8 man rotation.That is the answer as to why Houston took control down the stretch of the game. Talent and experience will beat talent with a lot less experience every time. Houston is tough and unflappable under pressure a lot of that is based on their experience and also their coach. If the Duke freshmen all stayed another year nobody would beat them next year. Of course that won’t happen.
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