1-seed Duke fell in the Final Four to 1-seed Houston in absolutely soul-shattering fashion last night, as the Blue Devils collapsed in the final two minutes of the game after controlling the contest the entire way to hand the Cougars the win.
Duke was up 66-59 with a minute and 14 seconds left to play, and proceeded to allow Houston to close the game on an 11-1 run to swipe the victory away from the Blue Devils, crushing Duke's hopes of hoisting a sixth national championship trophy this season.
After the game was over, Duke basketball legend and current ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams said what every Duke fan around the nation was feeling after the loss to the Cougars.
I’m sick right now….
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) April 6, 2025
Couldn't have said it better myself, Jay.
The Blue Devils seemed to let their inexperience get to them at the end, unable to make shots in the last ten minutes of the game after growing the lead to fourteen around the under twelve media timeout.
Duke was fantastic defensively in the first half, matching the physicality of Houston in the exact way that it needed to, and it looked for a while like the Blue Devils were going to pull away and win this game handily.
It's one of the bigger Final Four collapses in recent memory, and this loss will take a long time for the Duke basketball program and its fan base to get over.
Blue Devil rookie sensation Cooper Flagg was holding back tears during his postgame press conference, saying what this season meant to him.
"It was an incredible season," Flagg said. "Incredible people, incredible relationships that I'm going to have for the rest of my life. Didn't end the way we wanted it to, but, still an incredible year."
Flagg was fantastic, finishing the contest with a game-high 27 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor was playing like one of the best guards in the nation through the first few games of Duke's NCAA Tournament run, but couldn't keep it up last night. Proctor finished his junior campaign with 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor.
At the end of the day, Houston executed a few more plays late, and the experienced Cougars squad elevated above the young Blue Devil core. It was a phenomenal season for Blue Devil basketball regardless, and sometimes the NCAA Tournament will end in heartbreak like it did last night for Duke.