How Duke blew a 7-point lead in 1 minute and 14 seconds.

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There’s an old adage in sports: “The better team won.”

On Saturday night, the better team led by 14 points midway through the second half before everything unraveled. The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils squared off against the No. 1 Houston Cougars in the second semifinal matchup of the Final Four.

Many believed Houston, lauded as an elite defensive team, would out-physical the Blue Devils, but Duke established control and raced to an early 18-9 lead just ten minutes into the game. 

In their elite eight matchup against Tennessee, the Cougars allowed only 15 points the entire first half. Duke entered halftime with a six-point lead and quickly expanded on that lead in the second half.

Led by Cooper Flagg’s game-high 28 points, Duke increased its lead to 14 points with just 8:17 remaining. With 2:15 remaining, the Blue Devils led by nine, and with 1:14 they led by seven. Duke had dominated for 38 minutes and 46 seconds, but disaster struck in the final 1:14.

After the teams exchanged free throws, Duke led by six points with possession of the basketball. Kon Knueppel drove to the hoop, but Joseph Tugler blocked his layup attempt with 0:47 left in the game. Houston pushed the ball in transition, and Emanuel Sharp drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the lead to three points with 0:33 remaining.

Out of a timeout, the Blue Devils inbounded the ball from the most precarious location on the court — underneath their own basket. Sion James, the inbounder, threw a lob pass intended for Flagg, which was deflected and picked off by the Cougars. Houston kicked the ball out to Mylik Wilson, who missed a three-point shot, but Joseph Tugler grabbed the offensive rebound and the put-back to cut the lead to 66-67.

With 0:20 remaining, Houston intentionally fouled Tyrese Proctor to shoot 1-and-1 free throws. Proctor, an ever-reliable shooter at the charity stripe, missed his free throw. The ball took a high bounce off the rim, and Flagg came down with the offensive rebound. However, the Freshman was called for an over-the-back foul — a polarizing whistle that undoubtedly impacted the outcome of the game — which sent Houston’s J'Wan Roberts to the free-throw line.

With the clock stopped, Roberts drilled both free throws and gave Houston its first lead since the 15:25 mark when they led 6-5 in the first half.

Duke called timeout to draw up a play for their best player, the AP player of the year, Cooper Flagg.

With the season on the line, Flagg caught the ball on the left wing, sized up his defender, drove to the hoop, stopped near the free-throw line, spun, and shot a fade-away jump shot that fell short, barely grazing the rim. Houston secured the rebound, and Duke fouled L.J. Cryer with just 0:03 remaining.

Cryer made both free throws, effectively ending the game. Duke could not generate a clean look to force overtime, forcing Proctor to launch a desperation heave that sailed over the backboard.

Houston survived a 70-67 thriller in a game the Blue Devils hope to forget.

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It’s Houston vs. Florida in the National Championship, but, candidly, I’d much rather watch the women’s title bout between UConn vs. South Carolina.

If you want to see marquee talent, elite coaching, and a great atmosphere, tune in today at 3 pm EST to watch future No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers face off against Dawn Staley’s vaunted South Carolina Gamecocks in a battle for the National Championship.

Oh, and the men’s title game is on Monday — if anyone’s still watching.