Duke's Heartbreaking Final Four Collapse Against Houston

There’s simply no justification for a team managing only one field goal in the last 10 minutes of a Final Four game. Yet, Duke has at least one reason for its dramatic collapse against Houston this past Saturday. The entire game boiled down to a critical play with just 20 seconds left on the clock. By then, Houston had nearly erased what had been a 14-point gap, bringing it down to a single point. Duke, in possession, lined up junior Tyrese Proctor for free throws. Sinking both would’ve meant Houston needed a three-pointer just to push the game to overtime.

However, Proctor missed the crucial front end of the one-and-one. Things then took a turn for the worse. During the rebound, Duke’s front-runner, Cooper Flagg, was slapped with a foul, sending Houston’s J’Wan Roberts to the line due to the bonus. Roberts capitalized on this, sinking both free throws and granting Houston its first lead since early in the first half.

Upon reviewing the footage, it’s challenging to spot where Flagg committed the foul. Roberts was so set on boxing out that he didn’t even go for the rebound, while Flagg didn’t seem to make any extra contact.

The CBS commentators were not fond of the call. They acknowledged, however, that when a player reaches over another during a rebound, it’s typically an automatic whistle. This time, that reflexive decision had significant repercussions.

Houston successfully defended against a Flagg jumper with just eight seconds remaining. L.J. Cryer then sank both free throws with three seconds left, sealing a victory that’s bound to be remembered by Duke’s critics for years.

For Flagg, this foul and subsequent missed shot marked a rocky end to his illustrious college career. The freshman, who accelerated his path from high school to college, dominated the season with major national player of the year accolades and is widely expected to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.