In a Final Four stunner for the ages, Houston muscled its way into the men’s national title game after a furious comeback against Duke on Saturday night in San Antonio.
The Cougars overcame a 9-point deficit in the final three minutes, outscoring the Blue Devils 15-3 down the stretch in a 70-67 win that gives Houston another shot at its first men’s basketball national championship in its first title game appearance since 1984, when Hakeem Olajuwon starred on the team. Houston trailed by as many as 14 points with eight minutes left.
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The Cougars will now face another top seed when it plays the Florida Gators for the crown Monday at the Alamodome.
While Saturday’s frantic finish will certainly be remembered by Houston, Duke and basketball fans alike, it wasn’t the largest comeback in men’s March Madness or even Final Four history. Here’s a look at some other memorable rallies.
Duke vs. Maryland — 2001 semifinal (22-point deficit)
The Blue Devils were the architects of the largest comeback in men’s Final Four history, beating Maryland in the 2001 semifinals en route to a national title. Duke — whose roster featured future NBA players Shane Battier, Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon — secured a 95-84 win after trailing 39-17 with under seven minutes left in the first half.
Battier, the national player of the year, scored 25 points as Duke beat its ACC foe for the third time in four matchups that season. Each of those wins came after a double-digit deficit, including the Blue Devils’ famous comeback earlier that campaign in what became known as the “Miracle Minute.”
In the Final Four, Duke didn’t wait until the waning seconds. After an 11-point deficit at halftime, the Blue Devils eventually took and held the lead with just under 5 minutes remaining after a pair of Boozer free throws. Duke went on to beat Arizona 82-72 in the final, giving the Blue Devils and coach Mike Krzyzewski their third national title.
“Nobody’s 22 points better than Duke,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said after the loss. “I knew they’d make a run. I thought we had enough to sustain it.”
Seton Hall vs. Duke — 1989 semifinal (18-point deficit)
More than a decade before Duke dashed Maryland’s title game hopes in that 2001 comeback, it lost in similar fashion after a semifinal rally by Seton Hall in 1989. The Pirates trailed 26-8 in the first half of that game but made 9 of 16 shots in the final 8:47 before halftime and stormed back for a 95-78 win to reach their first championship game. They missed just nine shots from the field in the second half.
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Krzyzewski, meanwhile, pointed to “foul trouble and injuries” for the Blue Devils’ struggles.
”You can’t bring in new bodies,” he said at the time. “The foul situation, you have to give credit to Seton Hall for running a good offense to put them into the position of being fouled. That’s just not luck.”
Kansas vs. North Carolina — 2022 final (16-point deficit)
In the 2022 title game, Bill Self and Kansas overcame a deficit that ballooned to as many as 16 points to mark the largest comeback in the men’s championship history. The Jayhawks trailed by 15 points at halftime, but stepped up their defense and held the Tar Heels to 29 points in the second frame en route to a 72-69 win.
Midway through that half, they led by six points and sealed the narrow win for their fourth and most recent title in what’s become known as the “Great Kansas Comeback.”
Loyola Chicago vs. Cincinnati — 1963 final (15-point deficit)
In an overtime thriller, Loyola Chicago rallied after trailing 45-30 in the second half to secure a 60-58 victory over two-time defending champion Cincinnati.
“I remember being almost in tears at that point,” Loyola guard Jerry Harkness told NCAA.com about the deficit. “There weren’t many nationally televised games back then, and all I could think about was that my mom, my dad and the family I had from the projects in the Bronx and Harlem were watching. We were getting blown out and embarrassed.”
Loyola capitalized on Cincinnati’s mistakes and made it a one-point game with 12 seconds left. After Cincinnati made one out of two free throws, Harkness drove to the basket and scored to tie the game at 54 in the final seconds.
Then in overtime, tied at 58, Loyola’s Les Hunter missed a shot but his teammate Vic Rouse tipped in the rebound in the waning seconds to clinch the win.
San Diego State vs. Florida Atlantic — 2023 semifinal (14-point deficit)
After trailing by 14 points in the second half, San Diego State stunned Florida Atlantic with a buzzer beater by Lamont Butler to seal a 72-71 win and advance to the program’s first national championship game. San Diego State finished as the runner-up, losing in the final to UConn, but the shot will go down in history as one of the tournament’s most notable game-winners. It gave the Aztecs their only lead of the second half.
(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
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