Inside Chaotic Houston, Florida Final Four wins – and what is the next step for both

Sixty-six games of the madness of March later, the masculine national championship match takes place after a superb final of the Final Four on Saturday in San Antonio.

The Houston Cougars launched a return in the second half to upset the Duke Blue Devils and win a shot in the national title. The Kelvin Sampson team will face the Florida Gators, who have stored the seeder No. 1 of the NCAA Auburn Tigers tournament earlier in the night.

Read the rest for the analysis of our journalists on site at Alamodome, plus a real -time game of the two games.

Jump to: Analysis | Relive the action

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Final: Houston beat Duke 70-67

How Houston won: The final match of the four on Saturdays between Duke and Houston seemed to be another stop of the Blue Devils walk in a national championship, just another coronation for the title of Cooper Flagg and Duke Imminent. After a franc lance of Tyrese Proctor put Duke at 14 points with 8:17 to do in the second half, the inevitable seemed closer than ever. But Houston remained faithful to his culture – defense, tenacity and offensive rebound – to return the game and delay Duke. The cougars made a sequence of 9-0 in the last 35 seconds, taking the lead on two free throws I Wan Roberts with 19 seconds to play, then freezing the game with two free throws LJ Cryer with 3.7 seconds to do. Flagg failed on a reversal jumper on the following possession and the despair of Proctor 3 points in the buzzer was long. Cryer paved the way with 26 points and six 3 points, while the final university game of Flagg presented a performance of 27 points, 7 reimburses and 4-assistants in a losing effort. The cougars reached the match for the title twice before, in 1983 and 1984, but have not yet won a national title. – Jeff Borzello

N ° 1 factor that helped Houston reach the match for the title: Houston’s physique wore a young Duke team.

Kelvin Sampson manages an exercise in the practice where he throws a bullet on the field and a pair of players fight to catch him. This physical approach made cougars the best defensive team in America. Throughout the match on Saturday, it was clear that Duke had the advantage of size with a fleet of players of 6 feet 5 inches or more on his list, but in the last minutes, the approach of close and personal defense that Sampson used throughout his mandate with the cougars wore the Blue Devils. With 8:17 am to play in the match, Duke had an advance of 59-45. Then Duke collapsed and only scored eight points the rest of the match, Houston joined. I Wan Roberts and LJ Cryer both hit big free throws on the section and Joseph Tugler also had a late key. Overall, Houston refused to break. And the same defensive prowess that led the cougars in the Final Four also helped them make the upheaval of a Blue Devils team which had been favored to win the national title for months. The No. 1 defensive team in America played as the defensive team No. 1 in America on Saturday evening. – Myron Medcalf

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Final: Florida defeated Auburn 79-73

How Florida won: Whenever things start to collapse, Florida turns to its star – it is in the moments when the best version of Walter Clayton Jr., a first AP -American team, presents itself. This happened on Saturday, while Clayton took on him (still) to ruin Auburn’s dreams and send the tigers home when he marked a summit of 34 points. A late game of 3 points – a bucket and a frank launch after a fault – sealed the victory for a team determined in Florida. Looking at nine points at the start of the second half, the Gators turned to their hero, who extended his post-season shots when he led Florida from another hole to help the program qualify for the national match on Monday evening for the first time since 2007, when the program won consecutive national titles. – Myron Medcalf

N ° 1 factor that helped them reach the title match: Walter Clayton Jr.

It’s still Walter Clayton Jr., right? The senior goalkeeper became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to produce consecutive 30 points matches in the elite eight and the national semi-finals, according to ESPN Research. He finished with 34 points and five 3 points, leaving Auburn completely helpless on how to defend him. Florida looked stagnant offensively with him on the bench in the first half, but came to life when he went after the break. Auburn had no response for his superb capacity for a course. Bruce Pearl changed his big wings on Clayton, but that didn’t matter. Contested lying down, by raising the line at 3 points, Clayton has always found a means. It was a remarkable performance. – Jeff Borzello

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