Two historic programs clash on college basketball’s biggest stage after putting together dominant resumes to this point. Each is a regular season conference champion and conference tournament champion. Each is a one-seed. Each boasts a top-10 defense in the nation, and each has a coach searching for their first national championship.
Neither team is accustomed to losses, as Duke (35-3) and Houston (34-4) combine for just seven on the season. The Cougars carry a 17-game win streak into San Antonio, with their last loss in overtime to Texas Tech on Feb. 1. The Blue Devils hold a 15-game win streak, with their last loss handed by Clemson on Feb. 8.
The Blue Devils are anchored by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who leads Jon Scheyer’s young but proven Duke squad in points, rebounds and assists. Scheyer starts three true freshmen — Flagg, small forward Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach — and the backcourt is rounded out by junior point guard Tyrese Proctor and fifth-year Tulane transfer Sion James.
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
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🗣️ @khaman_maluach 😈 pic.twitter.com/QedIAJCX1l
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 30, 2025
It is a physically imposing team, with Maluach standing at 7-foot-2 and boasting a 7-foot-5 wingspan anchoring the paint while guards Proctor and James both come in at 6-foot-6. It’s no mystery why the Blue Devils hold opponents to just 62 points a game. But they are sound in just about every aspect of the game, ranking inside the top 15 nationally in points per game, points allowed per game, free throw percentage, 3-point percentage and turnovers per game.
The Cougars have a different build-up as Kelvin Sampson’s squad only starts one underclassman in sophomore Joseph Tugler. Houston is led by fifth-year point guard LJ Cryer who is shooting 42% from beyond the arc this season. The Cougars don’t match the size of Duke’s squad, with 6-foot-8 J’Wan Roberts as the tallest in the lineup, but they play a relentless brand of defense that ranks them first nationally in points allowed per game (58.3). Sampson’s squad held two-seed Tennessee to just 15 first-half points in their Elite Eight matchup, and the Vols finished with less than 60 points for just the second time all season.
Tournament Talk 🗣️
presented by @HARMembersHere’s what @LjCryer had to say following our Elite Eight matchup against Tennessee.#ForTheCity x #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/QZUH9WyLoq
— Houston Men’s Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) March 31, 2025
Houston holds the nation’s fifth-best 3-point percentage, nearly touching 40% from downtown as a team on the year. The veteran squad has a balanced scoring attack with four starters in double figures, and they commit the third-fewest turnovers in the nation (9).
The Cougars are making their seventh Final Four appearance and Duke, it’s 18th. Sampson will try to get one step closer to bringing the Cougars its first national championship, and Scheyer will try to follow the footsteps of the legendary Mike Krzyzewski as the Blue Devils hunt for their sixth title.
It is lining up to be a defensive battle yet again between these two squads in San Antonio, just a year removed from their Sweet 16 matchup in 2024. Duke prevailed 54-51 in that one, but it is a new season and a very new Blue Devil roster. Follow along here on Saturday to track all of the action.
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