The emotions of March.
Two days after 1-seed Houston pulled off an improbable comeback to take down 1-seed Duke 70-67 in the Final Four, the Cougars, too, felt their own heartbreak after allowing a lead to slip away in the second half. Ultimately, 1-seed Florida swiped a National Championship victory away from Houston.
The Cougars beat Duke in the final ten minutes of the Final Four matchup between the two, after the Blue Devils worked up to an eventual 14-point lead in the second half. The Cougars closed the game on an 11-1 run after being down 66-59 with a minute and fourteen seconds left to go in the game, and shattered the Blue Devil program's and fans' hearts.
Houston was on top of the world after potentially securing the wildest comeback in Final Four history, then two days later it didn't matter.
The Cougars looked in control for the first 25 minutes of the National Championship against the Gators and found themselves up 12 at one point in the second half. A similar situation to where Duke found itself in the Final Four.
Then, it all came crashing down.
Now, there was a bit of disappointment by some around college basketball at how "chalky" this NCAA Tournament was. And for good reason, the wild upsets and double-digit seeds making deep runs are the main aspect of the tournament that makes it the greatest event in sports to some people. But the lack of upsets gave college hoops maybe the best Final Four of all-time between the four 1-seeds.
It's been a few days for Duke fans and its program to process the crushing defeat, and for most, it was probably painful to see Houston in the national title game instead of the Blue Devils.
But it's wild what March Madness can do to you. Just a couple of days after Houston was on the right side of an improbable comeback, it was on the wrong side of a devastating loss.
Maybe Duke deserved to beat Houston. Maybe Houston deserved to beat Florida. But in March, it's those last few minutes that send immense joy to a program and its fan base, or soul-crushing devastation.
We are through another incredible NCAA Tournament, and the 2024-25 college basketball season has now come to a close. Duke basketball didn't end the season quite the way it wanted to, but its fans couldn't be prouder of the program's season and purely how fun this team was to watch for the last five months.
And maybe seeing the team experience the heartbreak it gave to Duke, it could help Blue Devil faithful heal easier.