Duke blowing the lead in their Final Four loss to Houston will take the headlines. However, the Cougars earned this win with their insane commitment to the game.

The 2025 men's Final Four became the 2025 men's Final Two on Saturday night in San Antonio, Florida defeating Auburn 79-73 in the all-SEC semifinal before Houston stunned Duke 70-67 in the nightcap.

Proctor missed the front end of the one-and-one, and then it got worse. On the rebound, Blue Devils superstar Cooper Flagg got called for a foul, immediately sending J'Wan Roberts to the line because Houston was in the bonus. Roberts made both to give his team the lead for the first time since the 14:42 mark of the first half.

Paul Wall and Johnny Dang promise to give a grill to each member of the Houston Cougars if they beat Florida for the national championship.

When Duke eliminated Houston in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, poor health made for a convenient and legitimate source of blame. The Cougars were without All-American guard Jamal Shead and menacing defensive stopper JoJo Tugler due to injury.

Up six on Houston with less than a minute left, the Blue Devils were oh-so-close to a title game berth and a chance to win it all. Instead, they squandered it away in a series of mind-numbing mistakes.

The Cougars started to believe anything was possible in January, then drew upon their biggest win when Duke pushed them to the brink.