There's no way to sugarcoat it. Duke basketball's season ended in the most brutal of fashions last night at the hands of Houston, leaving the program and its fan base in pure heartbreak.
The Blue Devils were in control of the game the entire way, and then the last ten minutes happened. Lack of execution offensively and timely mistakes allowed the Cougars to creep back into the contest and eventually win it. Duke was up 66-59 with a minute and 14 seconds left on the game clock, then allowed Houston to close the contest on an 11-1 run to steal the win and bid to the national title game away from Jon Scheyer's group.
But with all of the emotions of last night aside, this year's Blue Devils squad has so much to be proud of.
Scheyer put together the perfect roster to win a national championship, crafting around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg. He brought in length, defensive versatility, and shooters to complement the AP National Player of the Year, and it worked like a charm.
Duke was consistently one of the top two or three teams in the country all season long. The program ended the season ranked #1 in the AP Poll and was the only team in the nation ranked in the top five nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency at KenPom.
Scheyer also did an excellent job in the portal, grabbing experienced veterans that fit the mold of his program well in Sion James, Mason Gillis, and Maliq Brown.
And once these guys gelled together, they were unbeatable for the most part.
Duke finished the season 35-4 and 19-1 in ACC play. The program brought home an ACC regular season title and ACC Tournament title. The Blue Devils even won the ACC Tournament without Flagg, who missed almost the entirety of the conference tournament with an injury he suffered in Duke's quarterfinals win over Georgia Tech.
The Blue Devils also swept North Carolina, winning twice in the regular season and again in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
This team was connected and cared about each other, and Scheyer along with the rest of the coaching staff couldn't have done a better job molding this group into a well-oiled machine.
"I thought we had a phenomenal year," Knueppel said in his postgame presser after the loss last night. "It was a joy to be a part of. I would just hope that the fans and everybody appreciates how we gave it our all every night, and appreciate how we played together."
"Yeah I would say very similar, just the connectivity of this team," Flagg followed with. "I know I can speak for myself and I think the rest of the guys that the connections and relationships we were able to have all year long, it was phenomenal, like, I wouldn't have wanted it to be with anybody else. So I hope that was able to shine through on the court and people that can remember us and appreciate the way we were able to play and the effort we gave for one another."
Regardless of a sickening way to end the season, this was still one of the most memorable Duke basketball teams in recent memory, and its fans couldn't be prouder.