5 minutes ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

Florida shot 2 FT's the first half and 19 in the 2nd half. I think the game was fair both ways overall but I think the flow was hampered by the way the game was officiated in the 2nd half compared to the first half.

I have to admit, I didn’t even see the first half. So on top of being biased, I didn’t get to see that part of the picture. 
 

It was insane to me the amount of fouls in that second half. I do see from a quick look that only four fouls were called in first half at all. And those were 3-1 with Houston having more. 

Houston going into this game was 33-0 when holding opponents to under 70 points they are now 33-1 on the season. 

10 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Were they up six with 30 seconds to go and possession?

No but they went 0 for 9 in a five minute stretch that let Florida back in. They dribbled a ball off their leg. They couldn't even get a shot off on the last play.

Just putting food for thought out there. I don't think Houston choked and I don't think Duke choked. Great defense by the winner in both games.

1 minute ago, Voice of Reason said:

No but they went 0 for 9 in a five minute stretch that let Florida back in. They dribbled a ball off their leg. They couldn't even get a shot off on the last play.

Just putting food for thought out there. I don't think Houston choked and I don't think Duke choked. Great defense by the winner in both games.

If the Duke Houston game had been one possession the last 10:00 minutes of the game, nobody would be saying they choked.

7 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

If the Duke Houston game had been one possession the last 10:00 minutes of the game, nobody would be saying they choked.

I'll add this. In the last 1:30 of the game Houston had 4 turnovers and went 0 for 3.

Florida shot 39.6% FG and 25% 3FG

Houston was 34.8% FG and 24% 3FG

It wasn't a thing of beauty but it was exciting.

13 minutes ago, REALSPORT said:

Florida shot 39.6% FG and 25% 3FG

Houston was 34.8% FG and 24% 3FG

It wasn't a thing of beauty but it was exciting.

The defense was awesome! More impressive and beautiful to me than watching players making a bunch of open 3's.

49 minutes ago, DragonFire said:

Houston was in the bonus three minutes into the half. Florida was called for four fouls rest of the game and one of those was a technical. 
 

Houston was called for 16. One of those was the foul at the end when they had to. 
 

16-4. That’s a draw your own conclusions stat but wow. 

There were a total of 7 personal fouls called on both teams in the last 7:14 of the game. One of those Houston fouled on purpose at the end of the game. Take that one out it was 4 fouls on Houston, 2 on Florida. That doesn't include the technical on Florida.

I don't understand how the officials changed how they were going to change how they called the game from half to half. 1st half was like an the original UFC. Second half and contact was called and Houston had 3 in 9 seconds. I thought they let them play to rough in the first half, but Houston shouldn't be penalized for be consistent and not the officials. 

Houston simply freaked out the last few minutes. To me Florida set up a defense that was not going to lose the game on an open 3. Houston had a chance to drive to the hoop but looked to be playing for the win. Ugly as sin but one heck of an exciting game.

I'd like to see that last possession again. The spacing was way to tight with all those big bodies. Thought they would try to get to the rim. As my wife always says, everyone got their money's worth.

10 hours ago, Mikes2074 said:

Does Todd Golden shave.  Looks like he is 15.

Golden is the youngest HC to win a title since - you guessed it - Jim Valvano beating Houston. 

I like Sampson.  I wish he coached my team. But his teams are always better at defense than offense.  He hasn’t cracked that nut yet.  He wins a ton and prepares his teams well.  His style wins, period.  However, in the biggest of games, their offensive struggles are the problem.  

19 minutes ago, FatNate said:

I like Sampson.  I wish he coached my team. But his teams are always better at defense than offense.  He hasn’t cracked that nut yet.  He wins a ton and prepares his teams well.  His style wins, period.  However, in the biggest of games, their offensive struggles are the problem.  

In fairness, they led for what, 39 minutes yesterday? Houston also had one of the top offenses in the country this season. Big games have a way of making players tense, especially college kids.

9 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

There were a total of 7 personal fouls called on both teams in the last 7:14 of the game. One of those Houston fouled on purpose at the end of the game. Take that one out it was 4 fouls on Houston, 2 on Florida. That doesn't include the technical on Florida.

The first five fouls in the second half were called on Florida. I thought it was obvious Florida's second half game plan was to be more physical (I even think they got a little out of sorts themselves by doing so), but after those five fouls Todd Golden was going absolutely nuts on the sideline. There were about 7 straight calls that went against Houston, which certainly helped narrow the 12-point gap.

I don't say this to fault anyone and you're right, there weren't as many calls in the last 7 minutes. However, the inconsistency of the first half, the "third quarter," and then the last "quarter" is not good. I'm not totally sure how you fix it, though.

I can't imagine reffing a Houston game. They foul almost every play and force the refs to adjust to the more physical style. When it gets out of hand, they try to overcorrect, and you get the inconsistency we saw last night.