Best Final Four ... ever?! Breaking down Houston's, Florida's epic comebacks

We're still processing how the Houston Cougars and Florida Gators rallied second-half comebacks to beat Duke and Auburn, respectively, in the men's Final Four on Saturday night.

What happened to Duke? What was most impressive about Houston? And where does this pair of stunners belong in the history books?

Our college basketball analysts answer the pressing questions after a thrilling night at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Well, the most efficient offense in almost 30 years made only one field goal in the final 10:30 -- but a few things caused it.

One: Houston's defense is still elite. Even when Duke was winning, the Blue Devils were not particularly efficient on offense. They had two field goal droughts of more than four minutes in the first half, and outside of an occasional burst from Kon Knueppel in the first half or Sion James in the second, the only consistent source of offense was Cooper Flagg.

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said after the game that the Cougars weren't going to let Flagg beat them. Houston was its usual physical self, and the Cougars' full-court press in the final minutes created absolute chaos for Duke.

It was a combination of a stunning offensive collapse for Duke and a desperate Houston defense. -- Jeff Borzello

Houston's offensive production in the final minutes was the most impressive part of its comeback. Yes, a team with the No.1 defense in America turned a squad with the most efficient offense in the history of KenPom's database (since 1996-97) into a group that couldn't make a shot late.

The Blue Devils made only one field goal in the final 10:31 of regulation. But to get the win, the Cougars also had to produce a miraculous offensive display. With 8:17 to go, Houston had just 45 points but finished with 70 after outscoring Duke 25-8 the rest of the way. With 1:26 to play, the Cougars were still down by seven points. Although their defense created those scoring opportunities, Sampson's squad (74th in scoring nationally) had to hit a flurry of shots to prevail. That was the most impressive element of the rally. -- Myron Medcalf

Houston's comeback was extraordinary, one of the five biggest in Final Four history, but give me Walter Clayton Jr.'s performance against Auburn. The Florida guard has been the Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier of this NCAA tournament,, and Clayton is doing it in jaw-dropping fashion, making contested shot after contested shot.

Bruce Pearl threw everything at Clayton, including switching big wings Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara on him. They tried to blitz Clayton off of ball screens so he couldn't get a clean look going to his left, where he is so lethal. But none of it mattered. The defense had been so good at times, I'm not even convinced Clayton could see the entire basket on some shots -- he made 6-of-12 contested shots on Saturday night. But that's part of what's made him the most electric player in the NCAA tournament. He is the best guard in college basketball. And now he's making history, with the most points (34) by a player in a Final Four win since 1981, per ESPN Research. -- Borzello

It has to be Houston's poise. Clayton's 34-point effort against Auburn would have been the most impressive moment in most Final Fours. But Houston was extraordinary in the way it did not succumb to pressure despite being down by double digits on the sport's biggest stage in the final minutes. And the Cougars weren't playing some also-ran -- they were playing a Duke team that had been the favorite to win the national title for weeks, a group led by just the fourth freshman to ever win the Wooden Award. Yet, the Cougars never fell apart. Their opponent did.

It's rare for something to happen in the Final Four that feels like it's happening for the first time. But Duke's collapse and Houston's comeback were both unprecedented. -- Medcalf

This is the best pair of semifinal games since 2019, when Texas Tech beat Michigan State and Virginia beat Auburn. The latter game ended on a late foul by Auburn and game-winning free throws by Virginia, a sequence that came after a no-call on a double dribble by Virginia's Ty Jerome.

Michigan State had defeated a Duke team that featured Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett in the Elite Eight. Although the Spartans lost to the Red Raiders by 10 that night, Aaron Henry's layup had cut Michigan State's deficit to one with 2:55 to play. Still, Saturday's games were two of the greatest in Final Four history. -- Medcalf

Clayton vs. Houston's defense.

I already waxed poetically about how good Clayton has been all season and all NCAA tournament, how he's on an historic run to the title game -- the first player with back-to-back 30-point games in the Elite Eight and national semifinals since Larry Bird in 1979. He's seen everything thrown at him and it hasn't made a difference. But he hasn't seen Houston's defense. And a Sampson defense is a different thing altogether. Can he deal with the Cougars' physicality? Can he still generate consistent looks? On the other side, it will be interesting to see if Houston offers any wrinkles to slow down the first-team All-American.

As good as the Cougars' defense is, Houston will let teams shoot 3-pointers. And that's not a good idea against Clayton. -- Borzello

I'm most excited to see how two of college basketball's best storylines end.

Clayton was an under-recruited prospect from Florida who Rick Pitino found and signed when he was at Iona. Clayton evolved into an All-American at Florida, and if he has another extraordinary effort on Monday, he will become one of the NCAA tournament's all-time heroes. But Sampson, who will turn 70 years old later this year, is one of the game's top coaching veterans. And the only thing missing from his résumé is a national title. He is already a Basketball Hall of Fame candidate, but a national championship will put him in a different category among his peers. -- Medcalf