SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Sorry guys, “Phi Slama Jamma” is already taken. How ’bout something simple, like “Comeback Kids.”
“National champs” might be a possibility, too.
Houston’s no-room-to-breathe defense wiped away a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes, erased Cooper Flagg and Duke’s title hopes and brought the Cougars within a win of a championship of their own Saturday night with a 70-67 stunner over the Blue Devils.
Led by Joseph Tugler’s four blocks and an amoeba-like defense that smothers everything, Houston held Duke to a grand total of one field goal over the last 10 1/2 minutes. The 67 points were Duke’s second-lowest output of its now-ended season.
The Blue Devils’ second-to-last attempt during their contest-ending 1-for-9 stretch was a step-back jumper in the paint by Flagg that J’Wan Roberts disrupted. The last was a desperation heave by Tyrese Proctor that caught nothing at the buzzer and sent Flagg and company shuffling off in shock.
“We just had to keep that belief and keep the faith,” said LJ Cryer, who won a title with Baylor in 2021 and led the Cougars in this one with 26 points.
This is the program’s first trip to the final since 1984 — which marked the official close of the Phi Slama Jamma era, a fun-and-gun dunkfest that never won the title despite the efforts of Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, who was at the Alamodome for this one.
