Cayden Boozer had been having a terrific game for Duke. The freshman, often overshadowed by his National Player of the Year brother, scored 15 points with 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and it looked like he had played a major role in lifting Duke to the Final Four.
And then everything changed in a flash.
Catching a pass ahead from Dame Sarr near midcourt with Duke leading by two points with time running out, Boozer looked ahead and saw both Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba wide open for a dunk that would have sealed Duke's win over UConn.
Unfortunately, his pass was deflected, the Huskies gained possession, and Braylon Mullins drilled a 35-foot three-pointer in a March Madness moment that will never be forgotten.
It was a devastating way to lose. And while Duke fans are understandably sick about the loss, nobody feels worse than Boozer, who had clearly been crying in the locker room before the postgame media scrum.
"I turned the ball over. I should have been strong with the ball. I cost our team the season," Boozer said.
Just left the Duke locker room. Whew, that was tough. Here is Cayden Boozer's initial reaction before the media became silent in giving him a break for a minute. Give Cayden Boozer credit for owning his mistakes and not hiding from the pain. Feel for this young man.💔👿🏀🗣⬇️ pic.twitter.com/DsEJmr4MVf
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) March 30, 2026
Cayden Boozer was in tears in the locker room following Duke's loss to UConn
As Jon Scheyer put it in his postgame press conference, it's not about one play. Boozer's turnover that led to the Mullins three will be the play that gets remembered, but Duke should never have been in that position to begin with.
The Blue Devils led by as many as 19 points and held a 15-point lead at halftime. At one point, their win expectancy rose to nealry 99%. You don't blow a 99% chance of winning a game because of one play. Duke stacked bad possessions on both ends of the floor throughout the second half, which led to them being in a position where a miracle shot by UConn could beat them.
And, in defense of the freshman point guard, I'm not convinced what he did was incorrect. Should he have just held onto the ball? Sure, but hindsight is 20-20.
You see that exact type of pass ahead all the time in that situation, and it usually leads to a run-out dunk. And in that scenario, a run-out dunk by either Evans or Ngongba puts the game away and punches Duke's ticket to the Final Four.
It was a calculated gamble by Dan Hurley and UConn, and it happened to pay off. The Huskies made a great play to get a hand on the ball, and then Mullins hit a great shot.
It's a tough break, but Boozer shouldn't take the blame for the loss.