Duke. Houston.
Purdue. Texas Tech.
They’re feeling a certain way national champion Florida can’t relate to — unable to sense the same emotional agony of almost that makes the NCAA Tournament a one-of-a-kind thrill ride.
Texas Tech led Florida 75–66 late in the West Region final in San Francisco but missed free throws and the deadly offensive onslaught of Walter Clayton Jr. made the Gators winners in the Bay.
Purdue had a “home” crowd in Indianapolis ready to explode with euphoria with precious ticks left in the Sweet 16 before Houston’s misdirection inbounds play caught the Boilermakers off guard and sent the Cougars to the Elite Eight. They scored a 19-point win over No. 2 seed Tennessee to win the Midwest Region.
But Houston also saved some salt for Duke, champions of the East Region and national title favorites entering the Final Four. The Cougars reached the national title game with a storied comeback for the ages in San Antonio, erasing a double-digit deficit with lockdown defense that limited the Blue Devils to one field goal in the final 10 minutes, 30 seconds on Saturday.
Like Texas Tech — the last team to beat Houston before Monday — the Cougars had Florida dead to rights. Up double digits Monday night, Houston coughed up the lead and tarnished a season with a fifth and most painful defeat.
As coach Kelvin Sampson lamented late Monday, the Cougars did everything they wanted to do — except the most important part: finishing.
“I told our guys after the game to be disappointed you lost, but do not be disappointed in your effort. Defending Florida is difficult,” Sampson said. “We guarded ’em. We held that team to 65 points. Thought if we held Duke to under 70, we’d have a good chance to win. I felt like if we held Florida under 70, we’d have a good chance to win.
“Saturday we found a way to win. Tonight maybe not so much.”
One common denominator in the painful losses: free throws. The stripe was vital in sinking Texas Tech’s upset bid of Florida. It helped Houston shock Duke and hold off Purdue and Gonzaga.
Just when Clayton appeared to have the body language of a scorer ready to play decoy the rest of the night, Houston handed him a free (throw) pass on a pair of and-1 finishes, and he led Florida’s comeback by making the freebies. The Gators made 15 of 19 free throws in the second half.
“Probably put him on the line a little too much, and they made their free throws,” Sampson said.
Houston had every chance to write its own championship ending. The Cougars were in the bonus for more than two-thirds of the second half but let the advantage go unclaimed. Houston missed one-third of its 12 second-half free throws and hit just 6 of 25 from 3-point range for the game.
With a chance to put Houston up two with 2:05 left, after Joseph Tugler made the first foul shot, he missed the second. Florida responded with a pair of free throws from Alijah Martin with 46 seconds left, and the second of two from Denzel Aberdeen gave the Gators a 65–63 lead. But Houston’s last possession ended as the previous three had — with a turnover that sealed the Cougars’ fate.
“They made one more play than we did tonight,” Sampson said.
And eight more free throws.
