SAN ANTONIO – You think you know heartbreak? Try being a Houston fan.
Imagine being on the wrong end of the most famous finish in men's NCAA Tournament history, with Lorenzo Charles steering the ball in the basket and Jim Valvano running across the court; a forever moment of torture replayed every March from 1983 to eternity.
Imagine creating a run so unique and special in college basketball history, with Hall of Famers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, only to be remembered for coming up empty at three straight Final Fours.
Imagine decades of irrelevance, only to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 – and lose on Jordan Poole’s improbable, off-balance, buzzer-beating three to send Michigan to the Sweet 16.
Imagine believing you’re on your way back to the Final Four last year, only to watch your best player, Jamal Shead, sprain his ankle.
These are the things that Houston fans have lived through, have suffered through, have internalized over so many years.
“We’ve had a lot of close calls that never went our way, a lot of close finishes that led to heartbreak,” Houston’s most-prominent fan and alum, CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz, said late Saturday night in the middle of an Alamodome still buzzing with disbelief about what had just happened. “Tonight, we got one.”
A big one.
And if Houston wins the national championship on Monday night against Florida, maybe the one that makes up for all the rest.
Somehow, against all logic and evidence compiled over 37 minutes of a basketball game, the Cougars defeated Duke, 70-67, and authored arguably the greatest night in the history of their proud and historic program.
“I felt like if we could just hang in there, even when we were down 14,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Just hang in there.”
They did, long enough for Duke’s offense to completely melt down. Long enough for game pressure to encroach on a young team that hadn’t played very many close games down the stretch of the season. Long enough for Houston’s players to believe that even some horrible mistakes and missed shots wouldn’t doom them, as long as there was still time on the clock.
And when it was over, after future No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s mid-range jumper came up short inside the final five seconds and Houston iced it at the free-throw line, pandemonium broke out in the Cougars’ section of the stadium.
Nantz hugged his kids and wiped away tears. ...
