Jim Nantz tears up following epic Houston comeback, national title game berth
The Houston Cougars are going to the 2025 National Championship Game! The Cougars mounted the comeback of a lifetime in the final minutes of their matchup against the Duke Blue Devils. They completed the fifth largest comeback in Final Four history, ending the game on a 11-1 run in the final 1:14 to prevail, 70-67. One of the most prominent alumni from Houston is CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz. He was there in person to watch his team pull off the improbable comeback.
And as you might imagine, he was moved to tears. It was one of the biggest wins in school history and luckily for Nantz, he had his lucky sweatshirt on to help will the Cougars to victory.
Nantz played college golf at Houston, where he was roommates with Fred Couples, a golfer who had one of the smoothest tempos the game has ever seen. And one of the more beloved golfers in PGA Tour history.
Houston comeback was one for the ages
Houston was seemingly left for dead in the Final Four. Kelvin Sampson‘s bunch was not playing at an elite level on the offensive end. Duke‘s length was just too much to handle in San Antonio, almost ending the Cougars’ run in the Final Four with a heartbreaking result.
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But in the final moments, Houston went on an incredible run. Trademark effort in a full-court press overwhelmed Duke inbounders to cause turnovers. A controversial call on a free throw block out was what put Houston in the lead, 68-67 at the time.
Jon Scheyer then called up a play for Cooper Flagg, hoping his star true freshman would win Duke the game. Coming up short off the rim, Houston snagged a rebound, burned a few seconds, made both free throws, and secured the 70-67 win.
Nine unanswered points wound up being the difference as the overall run was 11-1 over the final 1:15 of the game. Just an incredible comeback from Houston, locking their spot in the national championship game Monday night.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.