Duke stunned by Houston in Final Four with crucial free throws after over-the-back on Cooper Flagg

The Final Four never disappoints, and Saturday’s nightcap between Duke and Houston produced a game for the ages in the final minutes of action.

Led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg and a host of highly-touted prospects, the Blue Devils built a 14-point lead in the 2nd half and had a chance to run away with things. Duke saw that lead cut all the way to 4 points but was able to rebuild it to 9 points with 3 minutes left in the game.

That is when things swung drastically. The Cougars outscored Duke 15-3 down the stretch to pull out a 70-67 win, and one of the crucial plays in that stretch was a steal off an inbounds play. The Blue Devils had issues inbounding the ball late in the game, and it was an area that Houston used to claw back into things.

Duke would get Tyrese Proctor to the free-throw line with a one-point lead, but it was not a fruitful trip. He would miss the front end of a one-and-one, and Flagg was called for an over-the-back on that play.

That particular call will receive some interest with the CBS broadcast crew describing it as a situation that should have been allowed to play on:

Duke would get its shot to re-take the lead with the ball in Flagg’s hands late in the game, but his fadeaway jumper was short. A pair of late free throws gave the Cougars the improbable 70-67 win:

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.