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Not even Houston can explain what just happened

Not even Houston can explain what just happened

A Final Four comeback win for the ages over Duke has left these Cougars speechless.

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Matt Fortuna
Apr 06, 2025
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The Inside Zone
The Inside Zone
Not even Houston can explain what just happened
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Photo: Getty Images

SAN ANTONIO — Lauren Sampson couldn’t bear to watch. Houston trailed Duke by six points at halftime, by 14 points with less than nine minutes to go and by nine points with 3:03 left.

What’s a distressed director of basketball operations to do?

Go on Petfinder.com, of course.

Sampson, the daughter of Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson, said she needed something that would make her happy. She turned her back to the court, took out her phone and began searching for puppies. That coping mechanism is how she landed her first dog, a Chihuahua, back in the 2019-20 season.

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Houston’s got that dog in it, all right. No one is doubting these Cougars now.

Houston stormed back to beat favored Duke, 70-67, on Saturday in a game they’ll be talking about in the Lone Star State for as long as college basketball exists.

The details may be lost to history. Hell, the Cougars themselves could hardly process exactly what had just happened at the Alamodome.

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