Duke led by eight and had all the momentum with four minutes to play in the first half. And then the refs stepped in and assessed a questionable flagrant foul on Cameron Boozer, who inadverently elbowed TCU's David Punch in the nose on a drive to the basket.
The contact seemed incidental, but upon review, the refs assessed the flagrant. You be the judge:
"To me, it doesn't feel overly excessive." -- @GeneSteratore on David Punch taking an elbow to the face from Cameron Boozer pic.twitter.com/pSmHb4FEPv
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026
The flagrant call became even more important a few minutes later when Boozer picked up his second foul of the half, putting Duke's superstar forward in foul trouble. That will be something to monitor in the second half.
The Blue Devils had built momentum and looked like they were going to go on a run and build a double-digit lead heading into the locker room. Instead, following the flagrant, TCU cut the lead to just four points at halftime with Duke leading 38-34.
Duke didn't hit a single field goal in the final four minutes.
As expected, Duke fans weren't pleased:
Cameron Boozer's flagrant foul had Duke fans going crazy on social media
All of a sudden, the fouls are almost even. And Cam Boozer gets a phantom flagrant. Imagine that.
— Rick Heidrick (@rheidrick24) March 21, 2026
TCU was still called for four more fouls than Duke in the first half, but no call was more consequential than the Boozer flagrant. Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon - and the CBS announce team - had no problem pointing out the foul differential throughout the half, though.
Flagrant foul on Boozer completely changed this game.
— Patrick Ngongba SZN (@CryBabyAudit) March 21, 2026
Sure did! All the momentum was in Duke's favor, and now we've got a tight game at halftime.
That was just a terrible flagrant foul called on Cameron Boozer. I’ve seen at least 5 other similar plays this tournament not get called.
— Mike Duke (@MdotDames15) March 21, 2026
The officials for this game proved quickly that they were in over their heads. They made the call because it drew blood, not in the spirit of the actual rule.
and Cam Boozer immediately picks up his 2nd foul
— Duke Basketball In Depth (@DukeInDepth) March 21, 2026
that flagrant one suddenly seems overly important
It was far from a banner half from Boozer, scoring only two points. But he had six rebounds and two assists, with his gravity getting other players open looks. Duke cannot afford for him to be in foul trouble in the second half. He and Patrick Ngongba, who made his return from injury, picked up two first-half fouls.
What a flagrant joke. Boozer lifted his arm and that’s it. The TCU guy basically banged his head against Boozer’s arm #dukevstcu #ncaa #marchmadness #duke #tcu
— FloridaBay (@LiveyBayJ) March 21, 2026
It's unfortunate that Punch got hit, but it was a normal basketball move by Boozer and nothing malicious.
Really? Cause a smaller guy is guarding boozer and puts his face into Boozer’s elbow, Cam gets called for a flagrant? Whatevs….
— The Duke of Kewpie (@TheDukeofKewpie) March 21, 2026
It was a tough call on Boozer, and any fanbase would be upset about it.
what an embarrassing flagrant on Boozer
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) March 21, 2026
because he's so huge and goes to his attack dribble, that's a flagrant?
make it make sense, please
Even neutral observers can't help but call out the ridiculous call.
That flagrant on boozer changed this game from what would’ve been a 10-12 pt halftime lead to 4.
— Duke Basketball (@DukeDukeBall) March 21, 2026
Total game-changer of a call, and now Duke is going to have to dig deep in the second half to preserve the win and advance to the Sweet 16.