After 149 wins over 6 seasons, J'Wan Roberts needs 1 more in last game for Houston's 1st NCAA title

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — J'Wan Roberts has been at Houston for six seasons and played in 149 wins for the Cougars.

Win one more time in his final game Monday night against Florida, and the Cougars will be first-time national champions.

“It feels great. I can say I've been to the tournament every year since I've been in college, and we've always gotten close, but we always lost," Roberts said Sunday, the day before the 6-foot-8 forward puts on a Cougars jersey for the 173rd time. “So for us to actually get to the national championship, and won like the way we did last night, is kind of crazy.”

The Cougars (35-4) overcame a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes to stun Duke 70-67 in the national semifinal Saturday night. Roberts, a 63% free-throw shooter, calmly made two with 19 seconds left to put them ahead to stay and then defended a final shot by Cooper Flagg, the 6-9 freshman sensation and AP national player of the year.

Roberts went to the line after Flagg was called for a foul with both big men going after a rebound of a missed free throw by Duke. Several times before and after shooting his free throws, Roberts motioned for quiet from the ecstatic Cougars fans in the crowd of 68,522 in the Alamodome.

“I was trying to calm everybody else down, it was getting a little too loud, because I still had to make another free throw," he said. “So everybody’s going berserk like I had just won a game with 0.1 on the clock.”

Well, they were really in a frenzy when Duke came out of a timeout and Flagg missed a fadeaway shot contested perfectly by Roberts as he extended his long arms.

When the game finally ended, Roberts tugged up the top of his No. 13 jersey with both hands to prominently display the Cougars name on the front as he hollered and interacted with the nearby red-clad fans. He was already celebrating with them when L.J. Cryer was adding two more free throws for the final margin.

Houston, which has an 18-game winning streak while winning 30 of 31, is in its first national championship game since back-to-back appearances in 1983 and 1984 during the Phi Slama Jama era with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

It is Roberts who is the winningest player in Houston history, though he did benefit from an extra year on the court. After redshirting in 2019-20, he got to play the next five seasons because of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted players who were in school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He’s been here as long as anybody. He knows the ins and outs of this program. Knows what it takes to win. ... He’s really just the ultimate Cougar, and he’s the epitome of Houston basketball,” junior guard Emanuel Sharp said.

Roberts is the only holdover from Houston's 2021 Final Four team that lost in the national semifinal to eventual champion Baylor. The Cougars made another regional final the following season and went to two more Sweet 16s before this year.

“Being here six years is crazy. I don’t know how he’s done it because it’s a lot of grueling days when you’re playing for Houston, especially for practices,” said Cryer, their second-year transfer and leading scorer who was a freshman on Baylor's 2021 title team. “For him to stick it out here shows how much he really loves this program and the love he has for the brothers. We’re going to go out here and try to get him a ring so he can end his career off on the right note.”

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Duke's Cooper Flagg (2) drives to the basket as Houston's J'Wan Roberts defends during the first half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Houston forward J'Wan Roberts dunks past Duke guard Kon Knueppel during the first half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Houston's J'Wan Roberts (13) and Mylik Wilson (8) celebrate against Duke during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Houston's J'Wan Roberts (13) reacts during the first half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Houston forward J'Wan Roberts speaks during a news conference at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday and pushed several major indexes toward weekly gains.

The S&P 500 jumped 0.9%, adding to gains made on Thursday. The index is now on track for a weekly gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 256 points, or 0.5%, as of 2:59 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq jumped 1.2% and is now also on track for a weekly gain.

Technology stocks with a focus on artificial intelligence once again led the market. Nvidia jumped 3.5% and Broadcom rose 1.9%.

The sector has been the driving force for Wall Street throughout the year as companies with outsized values like Nvidia exert more pressure on markets. Those pricey stock values have come under more scrutiny from investors wondering whether they are justifiable.

Oracle rose 7.3% on news that it, along with two other investors, had signed agreements to form a new TikTok U.S. joint ventur e. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each get a 15% share in the popular social video platform, ensuring that it can continue operating in the U.S.

Company earnings and how companies are performing amid tariffs and inflation were a key focus for Wall Street.

Nike slumped 10.6%, as the impact from tariffs overshadowed an otherwise strong quarterly profit report. Frozen potato maker Lamb Weston fell 25%, despite also beating Wall Street's profit and revenue forecasts.

Winnebago Industries jumped 8.4% after turning in profits and revenue for its latest quarter that easily beat analysts’ estimates.

Homebuilders dropped following a report showing that home sales slowed from a year earlier for the first time since May. Lennar lost 1% and KB Home fell 8.3%.

A survey from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment in December improved slightly from November, but is deeply diminished from a year ago.

“Despite some signs of improvement to close out the year, sentiment remains nearly 30% below December 2024, as pocketbook issues continue to dominate consumer views of the economy,” wrote Surveys of Consumers Director, Joanne Hsu.

Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as persistent inflation squeezes consumers. The job market is also slowing while retail sales weaken. Business and consumers are also worrying about the continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war that has targeted key partners including China and Canada.

The latest inflation update on Thursday revealed a surprise cooling of prices in November. The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index rose 2.7%. But economists quickly warned that those numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown.

“The wave of economic data did little to provide clarity for investors this week, keeping the market in the trading range it has been in since September,” said. Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, in a note to investors.

Inflation is still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate at its most recent meeting. It has been concerned about the slowing job market hurting the economy. But cutting interest rates could add more fuel to inflation, which could also stunt economic growth.

The Fed has maintained a cautious stance about interest rate policy heading into 2026 and Wall Street is mostly betting that it will hold steady on rates at its next meeting in January.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.15% from 4.11% late Thursday.

Japanese stocks rose after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in 30 years. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1%, leading the rise across Asia's key markets. Markets in Europe also gained ground.

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AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed.

Specialist Glenn Carell, left, and trader Robert Charmak work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Medline Industries signage is displayed outside the Nasdaq MarketSite, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Trader Vincent Vincent Napolitano, surrounded by holiday decorations, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialists Alex Weitzman, left, and Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing the market indexes of Shanghai, Tokyo and New York Dow at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of a chart showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)