1-seed Duke basketball fell in crushing fashion to 1-seed Houston in the Final Four 70-67, ending the Blue Devils' national title hopes. Duke was up 66-59 with a minute and fourteen seconds remaining, allowing Houston to close the game on an 11-1 run.
Duke's defense was its calling card in the first half, but it lacked the same intensity in the second as the Blue Devils gave up 42 points to the Cougars in the second twenty minutes.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer discussed the second-half defensive woes during his postgame presser after the heartbreaking loss.
"We could talk about not scoring down the stretch, but for me it's our defense," Scheyer said. "We gave up 42 points in the second half, that's what carried us in the first half. I thought that the last segment to close the half was big, we gave them four threes. And then some uncharacteristic plays we probably made, and they hit some really tough shots. So for me, as I reflect in the moment, I look at our defense, and that was disappointing. Because even if we're not scoring usually we get stops to get separation."
Duke allowed Houston to shot 10-of-22 (45.5%) from the three-point line tonight. Houston came into the game as the second-best three-point shooting team in the nation per KenPom at 39.7%, so stopping the perimeter threat from the Cougars was a big aspect of this game, and Duke was unable to do it in the second half.
Scheyer also shared what the emotions were like in the locker room after the defeat.
"The first thing is, I told them 'I'm sorry,' because we truly believed that we were going to be playing Monday night and were capable of doing that. The thing I loved about this group, they had a purity to them. We've done this thing differently and being young, to be this successful, part of them doesn't know any better, which is great. And then also, like, these are the things that experience gives you when you go through these moments. And so, unfortunately it comes with the tournament and it's the most heartbreaking thing. But I just tried to explain to them, like what they've done for Duke, our program, our university. It's been one of the best seasons ever."
Even with the soul-crushing loss tonight, the future looks bright for Duke basketball with Scheyer at the helm. Scheyer has now taken the Blue Devils to an Elite 8 and Final Four, respectively, in back-to-back seasons. Although the team came up short in 2025, Scheyer and his program are inching closer to bringing Duke its sixth national championship.