By Ken Cross
SAN ANTONIO – Belief is a core value that any successful program must have at the center of it’s culture.
Houston’s 70-67 dismissal of Duke defined the belief, experience, and culture of the Cougars’ program once and for all.
The Cougars are 34-4 and play Florida for the national title on Monday evening in the Alamodome. They have won two Big XII regular season championships and two Big XII Tournaments in their two years in the conference; yet, going into the Final Four matchup with the Blue Devils, this team was ignored.
Houston imposed it’s personal culture in the last 13:35 of this basketball game. Yes, Houston has superstars, a potential Hall of Fame coach in Kelvin Sampson, and a basketball culture that sustains winning.
The Cougars’ defense leads the NCAA in allowing opponents to shoot only 38.2 percent from the floor while it allows only 58.3 points per game. Analytically, it tops as No. 1 in defensive efficiency and No. 3 in effective field goal percentage.
Guard LJ Cryer led all scorers with 30 points as he also proved how he had been forgotten and overlooked all season as Houston’s leading scorer.
Duke guard Tyrese Proctor sank a free throw with 8:17 remaining and gave the Blue Devils a 59-45 lead and the Cougars stared at one last stretch to cultivate a thriller.
“When they got up to 14, that’s where a couple things go right for us,” said Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson. “Emanuel hit a three. We got an offensive rebound. They missed a couple tough ones.”
Houston’s defense allowed Duke to make only one field goal (1-of-6) and the Cougars forced four turnovers during the rest of the game. After Sion James gave Duke a 52-42 lead with 13:24 to play, the Blue Devils finished 2-of-11 with five turnovers as Cryer and Emanuel Sharp took over the game from the perimeter.
Sharp finished with 16 points as he scored nine in a row late in the game and hit a three to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 33 seconds remaining.
“Believing we can win; I feel like basketball’s a game of runs,” said Houston center J’Wan Roberts. “They went on their run. Once we started pressuring them defensively, turning them over, I think that triggers us offensively.”
Houston scored 19 points off of 18 offensive rebounds and in the second half, the Cougars found 13 points off of nine offensive boards while outrebounding the Blue Devils, 42-31.
“We started off, our offense, we changed some things offensively in the second half, then started scoring,” Sampson commented. “The problem was when we were stopping them, their first shot wasn’t beating us. It was their second shot.”
Cooper Flagg committed an obvious foul with 20 seconds remaining and J’Wan Roberts made the two free throws to give the Cougars a 68-67 lead.
“I try not to get sidetracked by how big the stage is or the crowd getting into it,” explained Roberts. “I just try to trust myself, focus on my routine, and trust my work.”
On the next possession, the ball went to Flagg on the left side and he dribbled into the paint after Roberts switched onto him off of a screen. He could not get into position to create a solid jump shot as Roberts’ size, length, and defensive position caused Flagg to miss a short jumper with eight seconds remaining.
“Cooper was not going to beat us by himself,” said Sampson. “I felt like if we could just hang in there, even when we were down 14, these guys will tell you what I was talking about in the huddle – just hang in there, hang in there.”
Flagg scored 27 points and Kon Knueppel tabulated 15, but Houston’s guards stopped Kneuppel and impeded Flagg in the second half. Kneuppel was only 1-of-3 in that second 20 minutes with just one assist.
Houston only trailed 34-28 at halftime as the Cougars struggled to find their rhythm in the first half. Cyer scored 18 of those game-high 30 points in the second half. He immediately served notice with a pair of threes surrounding a Milo Uzan drive to cut the Duke lead to 41-36.
JoJo Tugler performed in the clutch with his block on Kunepple with 47 seconds remaining and he had a major dunk off of a rebound which gave Houston a 67-66 lead. This was after he picked up a technical foul as he appeared to anticipate a throw in and touched the ball before it left James’ hands.