Cayden Boozer's last-second gaffe will haunt Duke and Jon Scheyer all offseason

Up 19 points over UConn, Duke players and fans could feel the trip to the Final Four in their grasp, but a disastrous second half let it slip through. All Duke had to do was get the ball over half-court when UConn pulled within two points with only 10 seconds left.

In a 72-70 ball game, UConn head coach Dan Hurley had his team ready in a press. Duke just had to get the ball inbounded, either get fouled or get in over the half-court line. They made the first couple of passes, but when Cayden Boozer got the pass from his brother, Cameron Boozer, he did the one thing Duke couldn't afford, and that was to turn the ball over.

With two defenders in his face, Boozer tried to make the quick pass over the half-court line to ice the game, but instead of doing the basic fake a pass, make a pass that every basketball player is taught as a kid, he tried to pass over the two defenders. UConn was able to tip the pass and hit the dagger three-pointer to give the Huskies a one-point lead with only 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

While the game never should have come down to that, and the loss can't sit square on Cayden Boozer's shoulders, it is certainly a moment that will always be looked back on in his Duke career. One split-second bad pass was the difference between Duke going to the Final Four and going back to Durham.

Jon Scheyer could be equally to blame with a timeout left in his pocket

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer did have a timeout left in his pocket late in the game. Boozer didn't struggle long enough with the pass for Scheyer to call the timeout and be heard by the refs, but there is an argument that could be made about calling it before the inbounds play.

It was clear that UConn knew the plan to press before Silad Demary Jr. even made that second free throw. Duke looked extremely out of sorts once the shot went in, and some could say that Scheyer should have called the timeout to get his guys settled. While it would have allowed UConn to get its press set, Scheyer could have also called up a play.

Scheyer could have also seen the press UConn had and called the timeout once the ball was inbounded. It is a tough call to make as a coach because if Boozer makes that pass, no one would say a thing about the timeout, but hindsight is always 20-20 in the end.

Many will come down on Boozer for that pass, but one play doesn't lose a ball game. Duke had a 19-point lead in the second half and should have been able to close out the game, but instead let UConn back in enough for that final shot to matter.