A Comeback for the Ages

College sports don’t get much better than Saturday night. 

Houston put the cherry on top of a great night at the Final Four that featured two outstanding games and one all-time comeback. 

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the Cougars’ unflappable toughness that prevailed over a historically good Duke team led by a historically good player in Cooper Flagg. 

The Blue Devils completely controlled the game for 38 minutes and 45 seconds. Thankfully for Houston and the Big 12, there was still 1:15 left on the clock before the inevitable Duke coronation. 

The Cougars packed a game’s worth of heroics into that final 75 seconds–a desperately-needed Emanuel Sharp three, a stolen in-bounds pass, a tip-slam from Joseph Tugler, and two of the most clutch free throws you’ll ever see from J’Wan Roberts.  

The latter gave us one of the best postgame moments you’ll ever see between Roberts and his mom. 

It was one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA tournament history, and there is no shortage of numbers to back that up. 

Duke led by 14 with 8:15 left, nine with 2:15 left, and seven with 1:15 left. 

They lost. 

In a tournament devoid of upsets and the typical anarchy we all love in March, Houston’s wild comeback gave us a classic March Madness moment that we won’t forget. We all desperately wanted something like this. 

It doesn’t hurt that it came at the expense of the team everybody loves to hate: Duke. 

And how can you not root for the Cougars anyway? In this Wild West era of college sports filled with a highest-bidder mentality, Houston is a program built on culture and players who have stuck together. 

Roberts is a fifth-year senior who has spent his entire career with Sampson and blossomed from a wide-eyed freshman who averaged one point per game into a tournament hero. Sharp is in his third year with the Cougars, dropping dagger threes on everybody. Sophomore Joseph Tugler didn’t hit the portal in the offseason, and his tip-slam got Houston to within one in the final minute. 

Speaking of sticking around, Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson is in his 11th season with the Cougars. Houston had been to one NCAA tournament in the previous 25 years when he took over. They’ve now played in six straight Sweet Sixteens. 

Not only is this a watershed moment for Sampson, but it’s a massive shot of adrenaline for the Big 12. 

The league will have a team in the title game for a fourth time in six seasons, and a Houston win gives the Big 12 its third national championship in five years. 

Once upon a time, the Big 12 struggled to send anybody besides Kansas to the Final Four. Houston is the fourth different Big 12 program in six years to play for it all. 

Sampson even used his postgame interview to deliver a must-listen message to the Big 12 haters. 

A win tonight would go a long way toward flipping the prevailing narrative of the college basketball season heading into next year. Instead of hearing about the SEC capping off a season of dominance with Florida holding the trophy, we could instead be talking about the diversity of proven championship-caliber programs in the Big 12. 

While Texas Tech painstakingly missed its chance to knock the Gators out of the tournament, Houston gets a shot at Big 12 redemption tonight. 

It won’t be easy. 

The Cougars have the unenviable task of immediately putting one of the most thrilling wins in college basketball history behind them. There is no time to celebrate. 

It’s reminiscent of the United States’ win over Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics. After taking down Goliath, the U.S. still had to defeat Finland to win gold. 

Houston just won a game that felt like the final. They took down Duke, the 2025 NCAA tournament version of Goliath, in thrilling comeback fashion. The entire sports world is talking about it. 

But there’s one game left, and it’s against one of the top ten teams of the last thirty years. 

Who among us feels good about betting against Sampson and Houston to have the discipline and toughness to get it done anyway? 

It sure won’t be me.

What You Need to Know

• If you still need more of your Kelvin Sampson fix, check out this hilarious candid moment from after Saturday night’s win over Duke. He may have a hard exterior, but Sampson apparently has a sense of humor, too. 

• The Big 12 leads all conferences in winning percentage in the NCAA tournament this year. It’s another feather in the cap for the league amid a very good postseason showing. All four power conferences take up the top four spots on the list. 

• College football could be leaving billions on the table by not forming a Super League, according to Dennis Dodd from CBS Sports. With private equity groups ready to swoop in and get involved, Dodd says a group that includes former Texas Tech quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes is one to watch out for. 

• Kansas got some much-needed good news in the transfer portal. Big man Flory Bidunga is coming back to Lawrence after briefly entering the portal. The Jayhawks were able to keep Bidunga away from Indiana and Auburn. 

• BYU got some good news for its 2025-26 roster. Junior center Keba Keita announced that he’ll return after averaging 7.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this year. Head Coach Kevin Young is still waiting on decisions from Richie Saunders and Egor Demin.

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