1-seed Duke basketball fell in absolutely heartbreaking fashion to 1-seed Houston in the Final Four tonight. It was a monumental collapse in the final two minutes for the Blue Devils to hand the Cougars the victory, ending Duke's hopes for a sixth national championship this season.
Duke was up 66-59 with 1:14 left, then allowed Houston to close the game out on an 11-1 run to win it 70-67.
For the majority of the contest, the Blue Devils had complete control. They were matching the physicality of the Cougars, crashing hard on the glass, and making shots to get out to a comfortable lead to close out the first half.
The second half went Duke's way for almost the entirety of the way, until the two-minute drill set in where Houston's press was killer. The Blue Devils really struggled to get the ball in for the rest of the game, and ultimately allowed the Cougars to inch their way back in and take over the lead.
It's an unbelievably painful loss for the Duke basketball program and its fan base, but this was one of the more memorable Blue Devil squads in recent memory. Head coach Jon Scheyer perfectly built a roster around freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, and it seemed the inexperience might've caught up to the group late, causing the breakdown.
Flagg, the AP National Player of the Year, was absolutely incredible. He finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. With 17 seconds to go and Duke down by a point, the ball was put in his hands, and he worked towards a final shot, bullying his way into a fadeaway jumper from inside the free-throw line. Unfortunately, the rookie left it short and sealed the deal for Houston.
Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel put up 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three. Tyrese Proctor didn't end his junior season the way he wanted, tallying 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor.
It's a brutal end to Duke basketball's season, but it was an incredible season for the team nonetheless. The program brought home an ACC regular season title, an ACC Tournament Championship, and made a trip to the Final Four.
Flagg, Knueppel, and rookie big Khaman Maluach are likely headed to the NBA Draft, and now the program will begin to look at what the team will look like next season.