The Duke Blue Devils had a phenomenal season under the leadership of head coach Jon Scheyer, but the road has now ended.
Duke lost 70-67 to the Houston Cougars in the Final Four, capping off their NCAA Tournament run just one game before the national championship.
Following the Final Four loss, Scheyer spoke with the media where he discussed a heartbreaking end to the season for Duke while crediting Houston.
“It’s been a special ride that ended in a heartbreaking way,” Scheyer said. “I thought our guys followed the game plan, controlled the game and had the lead for 35 minutes. Houston made plays and you have to give them a ton of credit. We didn’t make those plays. You go from some of the special moments in the tournament to the most heartbreaking loss. These guys have done an incredible job, it’s heartbreaking, it’s incredibly disappointing and there’s a lot of pain that comes with this. but that’s what the tournament is all about.”
Scheyer also shared a thankful note on his players, mentioning that he is “grateful” to be able to coach guys like Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor. “Could not be more proud of these guys,” Scheyer added. “I am thankful for this team, how hard these guys played, how together they played. I couldn’t be more grateful to coach such a connected group.”
The Duke Blue Devils entered the NCAA Tournament having won the ACC Tournament championship while being ranked as the No. 1 team in the East Region.
Before losing to Houston, the No. 1 team in the Midwest Region, Duke defeated Alabama, Arizona, Baylor and Mount St. Mary’s.
Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils were led by Wooden Award winner Cooper Flagg.
The freshman, who’s listed as a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year award, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
In the loss to Houston, Flagg recorded 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
