Jim Nantz wipes away tears after Houston’s wild Final Four win over Duke in emotional scene

Nantz, 65, dabbed his eyes and put his arm around his daughter, Caroline, whose face was painted with the university’s logo, as captured in footage shared by basketball analyst Jeff Goodman on X.

“That was incredible,” Nantz said as he walked to the locker room, according to Daly Dose of Hoops.

This is the second Final Four since Nantz retired from calling college basketball in 2023, when the final three games were played in … Houston, of course.

Nantz had to act impartial when the Cougars were in the 2021 Final Four, which marked their first appearance since three straight in 1982-84, right after Nantz graduated.

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Now Houston has advanced to Monday’s championship game against Florida after overcoming a 14-point second-half deficit and going on a 9-0 run over the final 33 seconds to steal the victory from Duke.

Houston had a win probability of 1.5 percent with 8:17 left, according to the college basketball analytics website EvanMiya.com.

The Cougars had not trailed by 14 points in any game this season before their stifling defense took over, and the Blue Devils struggled to even execute an in-bounds pass.

Ian Eagle replaced Nantz as the main television voice of the Final Four.

His alma mater, Syracuse, is working on its own Final Four drought, with no appearances since 2016 after going six times under legendary coach Jim Boeheim. 

Tip-off in Monday’s championship is set for 8:50 p.m. ET.

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