A Grip on Sports: A Duke collapse, a Florida star and a chance to earn a few bucks made Saturday a near-perfect day

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Why Saturday was a great day, by the numbers: They are 14; nine; six; three; and one. Those are the leads Duke held in the NCAA semifinal with Houston with 8 minutes, 3 seconds left; 2:06; :34; :25; and 19, respectively. The Blue Devils lost. Yep, a great day.  

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• To be honest, the Duke guys are not No. 1 on my most-hated list, college-basketball edition. There are others who shall remain nameless this morning. But the Blue Devils’ haughty attitude cultivated during the Mike Krzyzewski era has made them an easy target. And they were the only long-time blue blood in this year’s Final Four.

With “were” being the operative word.

Today, it’s Houston headed to the finals. Led by former Pullman resident Kelvin Sampson. Earned with a comeback for the ages, one keyed by the thing Sampson loves more than life itself: a tough, take-no-crud defense that locked down Duke in the final minutes.

Locked down? How about Duke, led by presumptive NBA No. 1 pick – and a transcendent talent in the Larry Bird mold – Cooper Flagg, making just one basket in the last quarter of the game – and only managing nine attempts? Or nine points total in that stretch?

The defense gave the Cougars a chance. The offense scored just enough. The result was a 70-67 win in a game that will go down as an all-time meltdown. But never forget for something to melt, heat has to be applied. And it was Houston’s defense that carried the blowtorch.

• Walter Clayton Jr. has made himself a lot of money in the past couple weeks, riding the numbers 123, 34, 20 and one.

They are, in order, how many points he’s scored in this year tournament, his point total from Saturday’s semifinal against Auburn, his second-half points in that comeback win and how many more wins the Gators need to earn their third national title.

The Florida guard wasn’t a complete unknown as the tourney began, sure. He was, after all, an A.P. All-American. And he always had talent, though it was only Rick Pitino who recognized it when Clayton graduated high school. Pitino brought him to Iona, then saw him leave for Gainesville before Pitino left for St. John’s. 

Funny thing. Clayton could be playing football for the Gators. He was a highly coveted high school quarterback and receiver, but loved basketball more.

Why is that relevant? He plays point guard like a young Russell Wilson, picking his spots to call his own number. And he attacks the rim like a young Tyler Lockett, finding every small hole in the defense en route to a big play.

He is this NCAA tournament’s breakout star. And his Gators, the lone SEC team remaining after their 79-73 win over Auburn, will face the tourney’s anaconda, the Houston defense Monday night. It should be fun.

• One other number for you. Two. That’s how many folks will finish ahead of me in our pool, out of about 100, if the Cougars win Monday. First time I think I could ever say such a remarkable thing.

Mainly because I’ve never really entered a pool often before.

For years I kept track of the games, sure. Even picked winners. But put money on it? Not for me. Then a couple years back, as we prepared for our 50th high school reunion, one of the committee members enticed me to join his group.

One year was enough to let me know why I didn’t do it. So last year I skipped it. And he gave me a raft of trouble at the reunion.

It worked. I re-entered this year. Didn’t think much about it, just used Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. Then went against them in the semifinals, picked Big 12 champion Houston to upset Duke and win it all over Florida.

Others did too, including – I know I will hear about this at some point – my buddy’s wife who, along with one other person, did better earlier in the tournament. The best I can finish is third. Bronze.

If Florida wins? No podium for this guy.

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WSU: Sometimes the best transfer portal move, for the player and the school, is not to make one. Such is the case with the Cougars’ Hudson Cedarland, who was this close to leaving Pullman. Now he’s this close to making an impact at a new position. Greg Woods has the story. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has a column on tomorrow’s House settlement hearing in Oakland. More than likely, the final terms won’t be announced tomorrow. But whenever they are, they will alter the collegiate landscape for a while. … The Bay Area schools are bracing for change. … We linked above most of the coverage from Saturday’s semifinals. But we have a couple stories here, from various national outlets, to pass along. … Transfer portal makeovers are still all the rage, even at Utah. … USC has lost a guard to the portal.  … Boise State’s season, and Tyson Degenhart’s career, ended in the CBC with the loss to Nebraska. … In the women’s game, the NCAA final is today (noon, ABC). UConn vs. South Carolina. An 11-time champion vs. last year’s champions. Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley, Paige Bueckers and a Gamecocks group that is on a roll. It should be a great contest. … Arizona is looking for a new coach after Adia Barnes, who once led the Wildcats to the NCAA title game, left for SMU. … In football news, Washington held its third spring practice. … Oregon has developed another excellent tight end. … Colorado’s pro day seemed more NFL than college-like. … Utah held a scrimmage yesterday. … Pete Carroll is finishing ups his stint teaching at USC. Time to start a pro career. … UCLA recruited a new offensive coordinator. … Is Cam Skattebo too slow for the NFL? … Arizona’s spring practice rolls on. … So did Boise State’s, with a scrimmage. … Fresno State held a scrimmage as well. … Same with Colorado State.

Gonzaga: Mark Few missed out on election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year. It was his first year as a nominee. Theo Lawson has that news story. … Theo also has a story that doesn’t contain news, per se. More like speculation. The Zags have yet to attract a transfer through the portal. They need at least a couple guards. Who might they be targeting?

Idaho: The Vandals’ first scrimmage of the spring, and the first under new coach Thomas Ford, was a bit disjointed. Nothing surprising about that. Peter Harriman was in attendance and has this coverage. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, recruiting never stops. Ask Montana State.

Chiefs: One series down. On to the next. Spokane scored early, often and more than Vancouver on Saturday, winning 9-4 and clinching the best-of-seven first-round WHL playoff series 4-1. Dave Nichols explains how it happened in this story.

Indians: With Dave busy at the Arena, Colton Clark filled in on the Indians, who were shut out by Everett 8-0. Jurrangelo Cijntje, one the Mariners’ top prospects, threw four shutout innings for the AquaSox.

Velocity: Expansion Portland came to Spokane on Saturday and left without scoring. Then again, the host Velocity didn’t either. John Allison has the coverage of the scoreless draw.

Mariners: Seattle didn’t do much scoring either Saturday in San Francisco. And it was former Mariner Robbie Ray who kept them at bay. The Giants breezed to a 4-1 win. … Jesse Hahn has been waiting to return to the big leagues for a while. The reliever had a good outing yesterday.

Kraken: No matter how blah Seattle’s season has been, at least it has been better than that of San Jose. And the Kraken showed why in their 5-1 road win yesterday.

Sounders: Seattle was awful. No way around it. The Sounders fell 3-0 to the MLS’ newest team on the road.

Storm: Sue Bird was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame yesterday. And bolstered her resume among Seattle’s all-time athletes.

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• Saturday included watching a baseball game in person, a doughnut for breakfast, a couple walks with the dog, a little yard work, a few innings of the M’s on TV, a small but tasty dinner and then two NCAA semifinals, interspersed with a movie on TCM. Kind of a perfect day. Until later …