Final Four scores, results: Houston stuns Duke after late Cooper Flagg miss; Florida tops Auburn to set up championship game

If Saturday’s Final Four games are any indication, college basketball fans are in for a thrilling championship game on Monday.

Here’s how it all went down on Saturday:

For 30 minutes on Saturday, Duke looked well on its way to the national title game and a chance to cap Cooper Flagg’s historic freshman season with a championship.

Houston had other ideas. It ended the game with a 15-3 flurry to secure a 70-67 stunner and advance to Monday’s national title game against Florida.

Duke appeared to be in control with a 67-61 lead and possession of the ball with 1:14 remaining. But a missed Kon Knueppel layup led to an Emmanuel Sharp 3-pointer on the other end that cut Duke’s lead to 67-64 with 33 seconds left. Houston then forced a turnover on an inbounds pass under its basket, leading to a Joseph Tugler dunk that cut Duke’s lead to 67-66.

Duke’s Tyrese Proctor then missed the front end of a one-and-one on the other end, and Cooper Flagg got whistled for a loose ball foul on the rebound, sending J’Wan Roberts to the free throw line with a chance to take the lead. Roberts hit both shots to give Houston a 68-67 lead with 19.6 remaining, extending Houston’s run to 13-3.

Flagg had a look at a go-ahead jumper on Duke’s next possession, but it bounced off the front of the rim and more Houston free throws iced it.

It added up to a stunning collapse for a Duke team pegged as the championship favorite that was in control of the game with a 14-point lead with 8:17 remaining. Flagg was well on his way to his coronation with a dominant effort on both sides of the floor.

Read the full story from Jason Owens right here.

Walter Clayton Jr. had to completely take over, but Florida is headed to its first national championship game in nearly two decades.

The Gators snuck past top-seeded Auburn in a thrilling battle to kick off the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday night. Florida, thanks to 34 points and five 3-pointers from Clayton, pulled off the narrow 79-73 win over the Tigers. They shut down Johni Broome almost completely after he dominated in the early minutes, too.

Florida, which made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2014, hasn’t been to a national championship game since 2007, when the Gators won their second straight title. They’ll now take on Houston in the title game on Monday.

Clayton went 11-of-18 from the field and had four rebounds and two assists to go with his 34 points for the Gators, which marked his highest-scoring game of the tournament so far. He had 30 points in their Elite Eight win over Texas Tech, which made him the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to have back-to-back 30-point games this deep in the NCAA tournament. Alijah Martin finished with 17 points, and Thomas Haugh added 12 points off the bench. They were the only three Gators players to hit double figures.

Read full story from Ryan Young right here.

No. 1 Florida 79, No. 1 Auburn 73

No. 1 Houston 70, No. 1 Duke 67

See below for reactions, highlights and more from Yahoo Sports: