Duke Busts Brackets

Matthew Willar

News Editor

Over 27% of March Madness brackets were busted last weekend when the Duke Blue Devils fell to the Houston Cougars 70-67 in a final four matchup. The Blue Devils were the most picked team to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 Basketball Tournament.

Led by New England native Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils finished with an overall record of 35-4 going into the tournament, giving them the number one seed in the East Division. They unsurprisingly coasted through the bracket to get them to the final 4, and had a nine-point lead over the Cougars with just three minutes left in regulation. But Flagg’s team-high of 27 points weren’t enough to stop a 9-0 run by Houstin in the final 35 seconds of the game.

The Blue Devils appeared to be on pace to advance to the National Championship with a six-point lead going into the second half. They extended their lead to 14 with over eight minutes to play. Duke’s Kon Knueppel added 16 points to Flagg’s 27, but a balanced scoring effort by the Cougars mounted a comeback in the game’s final minutes.

Houston’s defense down the stretch didn’t allow Duke to make a shot from the field in the game’s final three minutes. The Blue Devils were still up three with just 33 seconds to play, but Houston’s defense caused the team to use their final timeout. Flagg was called for an offensive foul with 19.6 seconds left, which sent Houston to the line with the chance to take the lead.

Now down one, all the pressure was on Flagg to save his team from a devastating collapse. Guarded by Roberts, Flagg pulled up for a 12-foot jumper, but was unable to get it to fall. Houston was now seconds away from completing a 14-point comeback and advancing to the National Championship for the first time since 1984.

Cryer hit both of his free throws to give Houston a three-point lead, and a still-defensively strong Cougar’s team created a heavily contested shot by Duke to attempt to force the game to overtime.

LJ Cryer buried six 3-pointers on his way to a team-high of 26 points for the Cougars, with Emanuel Sharp adding 16 points. J’wan Roberts earned his way to a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.