The Big 12 Conference had one team playing in the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Saturday’s Final Four Results
No. 1 Florida 79, No. 1 Auburn 73
No. 1 Houston 70, No. 1 Duke 67
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
THE TUGLER REDEMPTION ARC
There was a moment that I thought Houston (35-4) was done. That moment was when Joseph Tugler accidentally reached over the baseline and jarred the ball loose as Duke (35-4) was trying to inbound the ball.
That happened with 1:14 left in the game. It was a Class B technical foul. Kon Knueppel made a free throw to give the Blue Devils a 67-61 lead.
It wasn’t over. But it was as if the momentum that Houston has built in the final minutes of the contest just, well, disappeared.
Then came one of the most incredible comebacks I’ve seen in quite some time — and it started with Tugler redeeming himself.
On the next possession he blocked a shot by, of all people, Knueppel, and the Cougars went the other end. Emanuel Sharp — who was just absolutely nails down the stretch — shook himself free for a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.
That cut the lead to three points. Houston still needed a turnover, and Duke had just six turnovers to that point.
Well, enter Mylik Wilson. On Duke’s first inbounds pass it was blocked back out of bounds by Sharp. That was critical because Duke’s inbounder, Sion James, couldn’t run the baseline. On the next play, Wilson deflected James’ pass and ran out to the arc to fire off a 3-pointer. He missed. Tugler cleaned it up with a massive slam to cut the lead to one.
Houston still needed help. The Cougars got it. James inbounded the ball and it ended up in the hands of Duke’s worst free throw shooter on the floor, Tyrese Proctor. He missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Duke’s Cooper Flagg was called for going over the back of Houston’s J’Wan Roberts on the rebound.
Now, Roberts is right around Proctor’s free-throw percentage, under 70%. The difference was Roberts made both of his. Houston was ahead with 19 seconds left.
It was Roberts who closed the deal. He drew Flagg on defense at the other end and influenced the freshman’s shot to fall short of the rim. Houston rebounded and got the ball to L.J. Cryer, who made both free throws with three seconds left to give the Cougars a three-point lead.
Proctor had a halfcourt shot that went way long. And it was done.
Tugler almost did the Cougars in. But that’s this team. Someone makes a mistake and that player makes up for it almost immediately. Tugler blocks a shot, cleans up a rebound for a dunk and his teammates do the rest.
Just epic stuff. And the Cougars — who are in their seventh Final Four — will get another shot at their first national title.
WAS I RIGHT?
Before the game, I wrote about my three keys, the things Houston could do to beat Duke. I wondered after the game, was I right?
I wrote that Houston had to be efficient from the 3-point line and it was — 45.5%. Cryer was the big shooter, as he drained six 3-pointers and he finished with 26 points.
I wrote that Houston would probably need to trick things up on defense to slow down Flagg. The Cougars didn’t do that. They stuck to their identity. It ended up working out. Flagg got his as he finished with 27 points. Knueppel had 16 points. But the rest of the team didn’t step up. Proctor only had six points. The bench did practically nothing. Houston’s stifling defense had something to do with that.
Finally, I wrote that the magic number was holding Duke to 71.5 points or less, based on Duke’s three losses. Well, Houston held the Blue Devils to 67 points.
SOMEONE STOP WALTER
I felt if Auburn was going to beat Florida (34-4) it would need a big game from Johni Broome. He didn’t have quite the game I thought he would, but he ended up with 15 points. That’s respectable.
Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. more than doubled the output with a 34-point game, as he shot 11-of-18 from the floor and made five 3-pointers.
Clayton took over this game and he helped flip the script for the Gators. They were down 46-38 at halftime and outscored the Tigers 41-27 in the second half.
He’s now dropped back-to-back 30-point games in this tournament and scored at least 20 points in four of his five games. Plus, he’s now in company with Larry Bird.
As the game went on, Auburn’s defense was just powerless to stop him. Great players take over big games. Clayton did that again on Saturday night.
AUBURN’S DONE
It’s the transfer portal era, so it’s entirely possible that the Auburn Tigers will be this good again next season. But this was a special year for Auburn, one that positioned its head coach, Bruce Pearl, for his best shot at a national title.
The Tigers (32-5) were No. 1 in the country for much of the year. At one point it was possible that Auburn could finish the SEC season undefeated. Florida put an end to that — in February. Auburn stumbled with three losses in their final four games down the stretch. But at no time did I think the Tigers would fail to get to the Final Four.
Getting to the final weekend is an accomplishment. But this roster has a lot of seniors on it — not the least of which is Broome — and Pearl will have significant work ahead of him to build a roster as good as this one.
Most of the rest of the SEC has a head start on him. Plus, the House vs. NCAA settlement is set to be heard on Monday. It may not be approved on Monday, but once it is, the NIL world is going to change a little bit.
The only solace for Pearl is that can start recruiting hard for the next 48 hours to beat a deadline many believe is tied to the approval of the settlement. Pay the players up front and you can avoid the third-party approval apparatus that is coming.
It’s how you stay competitive now.
WHO WINS MONDAY?
I think most people are going to take Florida. It’s easy to see why after watching them against Auburn and the way they’ve played in this tournament. The Gators are a great team. They will be nearly impossible to beat. Florida is peaking at the right time.
But Houston has specialized in doing the impossible this season. After the game the Cougars compared this win to beating Kansas in double overtime earlier this season and it’s an apt comparison.
Defense always translates in the NCAA Tournament. Houston is reinforcing that understanding. I’ll take the Cougars by a point.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
