Duke basketball haunted by 'what ifs' after stunning collapse to Houston in Final Four

Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer on Apr 6, 2025

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SAN ANTONIO — In the end, blank stares replaced the knowing smiles of what had been an ultra-confident team.

Tyrese Proctor sat at his locker inside the Alamodome with a white towel covering his head, a similar pose to a year earlier when Duke was knocked out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Dallas by N.C. State.

That loss, to a Wolfpack team on an historic, magical run, denied Duke a Final Four appearance. As Saturday night turned to Sunday morning in San Antonio, the Blue Devils dealt with a different kind of loss, this one in the Final Four but to a tough-as-nails, super-talented Houston team.

The what ifs from Duke’s 70-67 national semifinal loss to the Cougars will haunt Blue Devil coaches, players and fans for decades.

What if someone, anyone (!), other than Cooper Flagg could have made a shot from the field in the game’s final 13 minutes?

What if Sion James could have successfully in-bounded the ball with 32 seconds left when he had not one, but two, opportunities to not turn the ball over?

What if Proctor had hit a free throw, or two, rather than miss the front end of a one-and-one with 20 seconds left and Duke still up by a point?

And, here’s the ultimate one: What if Flagg, the national player of the year and, presumably, soon to be top pick in the NBA draft, had hit that jumper in the lane with eight seconds left to put Duke back in front?

All those things had to go wrong for Duke to squander what had been a 14-point lead with 8:17 to play, a nine-point lead with 2:06 to play, a seven-point lead with 1:15 to play and a six-point lead with 33 seconds to play.

Mind-boggling. Stunning. Deflating.

“I’m heartbroken for our team that did everything for 38 minutes or 39 minutes, and came up short,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Obviously, as a coach, I’m reflecting right now on what else I could have said or done. I’m sure there’s a lot more that I could have done to help our guys at the end there. That’s the thing that kills me the most.”

A Duke team that went 35-4, that won the ACC regular-season and tournament titles, that reached the Final Four, didn’t claim the biggest prize available.

Scheyer built a strong roster, one with three freshmen surely to become NBA Draft first-round picks, two returning guards and three transfers that added grit, physicality and needed experience. They added to Duke lore by ensuring that three new banners will hang in Cameron Indoor Stadium’s rafters to commemorate their championships and reaching the Final Four.

That sixth NCAA championship banner, though, remains elusive, because for all their talent and experience, the Blue Devils failed to make basic plays in the game’s final two minutes.

“The amount of game situations we’ve watched this year,” Scheyer said. “We haven’t had the real-life experience all the time, but that’s something I really felt we prepared for. So I feel like I let our guys down in that regard.”

Flagg and James took their share of the blame, as well. With Duke up 67-61, they failed to properly cover Houston’s Emanuel Sharp before he nailed a key 3-pointer with 32 seconds to play.

“Just communication,” Flagg said. “I thought me and Sion messed up a switch. I think that was a big messed-up communication play between me and Sion that led to a big 3.”

Then, against Houston’s relentless defense, James tried to get the ball in-bounds to Flagg and a turnover resulted.

“Got to get the ball inbounds,” Flagg said. “Find whatever we’ve got to do. Find a way to get the ball inbounds.”

Instead, the mistakes piled up — and Duke is heading home.

For decades, sports fans have debated the greatness of different teams across generations. In the analytics age, it’s possible to quantify the comparisons more precisely.

Ken Pomeroy’s analytics system goes back to 1997. According to his efficiency ratings, this season’s Duke team is the second-best team, nationally, over that time, trailing only the 1998-99 Blue Devils.

Now, those two teams have something in common.

That 1998-99 team went 37-2 but one of those losses came to Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament final, a stunning 77-74 result. This Duke suffered a three-point loss that, even though it came in the semifinals and not on the season’s final night, is equally as painful.

This season’s Blue Devils enjoyed the ride and most of the memories are good ones. Most.

“Just how special a group we had,” Proctor said, summing up the season. “This was the most fun I had playing basketball in my life, and it’s just tough to go out like this.”

Now Scheyer, general manager Rachel Baker and the coaching staff will sift through the pieces and begin planning for next season’s team. Departures are coming. The incoming freshman class, headed by Cameron Boozer, will be another good one.

A return to the Final Four will be a realistic goal once again. But the Blue Devils will do so stinging from the missed opportunity to accomplish even more in San Antonio.

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