Houston ruined a fairytale ending, rained on Duke’s parade, and all that jazz. To be honest? We still can’t believe what happened during Saturday’s Final Four matchup. No one expected Cooper Flagg and Jon Scheyer to choke a fourteen-point lead with only eight minutes left, but there’s a reason they call it March Madness! The fans of Flagg, however, would rather it not. Yes, he is poised for a long NBA career, but going out of the storied program without a ring? The jabs are being directed elsewhere.
Cooper Flagg and his Blue Devils fell prey twice to the kill-stop tactics of Houston. Duke joins a considerably long list of teams that were sent home by the six-foot-three point guard’s heroics. But even in the dying embers of the game, they had a shot at victory.
With eight seconds left, and a one-point deficit, Flagg had the ball in his hands. The six-foot-nine phenom from Maine has dominated this entire season, and when he was backing down J’Wan Roberts? Well, Blue Devils fans still had hope. But the shot hit the front rim, and before we knew it, Duke was out of championship contention.
The NCAA community, however, was unforgiving of this upset. People called out Jon Scheyer for losing out on such a lead and Cooper Flagg for not being able to guide his team to the championship game. He had a shot, he just couldn’t make it.
With that went Scheyer’s shot at scripting history– winningest coach in the first three years on a job in the history of college basketball.His 89-21 record was already tied for the most wins record, and just a win more would even propel him where Coach K hadn’t reached. That’s the caliber the HC has presented in the past three seasons. He has gone on to sign back-to-back no.
1 recruiting classes, make a tournament appearance in all three, and had people believe Duke was the best team through March Madness 2025. But the Blue Devils fumble one game, and fans are looking for a better-suited coach for the freshman talent.This one narrative stems from Flagg’s high-school days, now sparked by Duke’s 70-67 loss to Houston.
A team that had looked unbeatable for 3 quarters could manage only one field goal in the last 10:30 minutes. The Blue Devils had the height advantage to go with their top defense and absolute beast in their freshman class.
But not everyone showed up. A mere 4 points came from the bench, and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson knew Flagg wasn’t going to win them the game alone, and he seemed prepared for it.
