The Duke basketball program and its fan base were left heartbroken after the Blue Devils let a FInal Four victory slip away from them at the hands of the Houston Cougars last night. Duke was in control the entire way, maintaining a 66-59 lead with a minute and 14 seconds to go. Then, the Blue Devils allowed the Cougars to end the game on an 11-1 run and win the game 70-67.
It's one of the most devastating losses in recent Duke basketball memory as Final Four heartbreak continues to live with Duke. The program's last Final Four appearance in 2022 ended with Caleb Love hitting a dagger three with less than 30 seconds on the clock to end Duke's season and Coach K's career.
However, Duke's 2022 Final Four loss wasn't as much of a pure collapse as it was a soul-crushing loss. But analytics say that Duke's collapse last night might be the biggest fumble in NCAA Tournament history.
Last night, Duke became the first team since 1986 (when steals became official) to have an NCAA Tournament game with a higher field goal percentage, more free throw attempts, more assists, fewer turnovers, and more steals than its opponent and still lose the game.
Teams were 335-0 in the tournament when doing all of those things before last night.
Duke is the only team to have an NCAA Tournament game with:
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 6, 2025
a higher FG%
more FT attempts
more assists
fewer turnovers
more steals
...than their opponent & yet still lose (since steals became official in 1986). Teams had been 335-0 when doing all that in the tourney. pic.twitter.com/afGEzTkfq9
Seeing the numbers really sticks the dagger right through Duke fans' hearts. The Blue Devils led the contest for 35 minutes, and the inexperience of its core and lack of execution down the stretch was enough to allow the Cougars to crawl back into the game and eventually take the victory.
Some are blaming coaching, saying Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was coaching scared in the last ten minutes when the Blue Devils really began to unravel, but it was more so a lack of execution offensively, and down the stretch, simply the inability of the Blue Devils to even inbound the ball.
Houston's full-court press in the last two minutes of the game caused major issues for Duke, as the Blue Devils seemed to be completely on different pages trying to inbound it late.
Despite the crushing loss, Scheyer continues to improve in each season as Duke head coach. In year one, he led Duke to the Round of 32. In year two, he led his group to the Elite 8. This year, he went to the Final Four. The future is bright for Duke basketball with Scheyer at the helm, and this defeat is a learning experience for the players and staff.