There is absolutely no defending a team that scored only one field goal in the final 10 minutes of a Final Four game, but Duke has at least one excuse for its all-time meltdown Saturday against Houston.
The game hinged on one play with 20 seconds left in the game. By that point, Houston had whittled what was once a 14-point deficit down to one, but Duke had the ball and ended up with junior Tyrese Proctor at the line. Two made free throws and the Cougars would need a 3-pointer just to force overtime.
Proctor missed the front end of the one-and-one, and then it got worse. On the rebound, Blue Devils superstar Cooper Flagg got called for a foul, immediately sending J'Wan Roberts to the line because Houston was in the bonus. Roberts made both to give his team the lead for the first time since the 14:42 mark of the first half.
🤯🤯🤯#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/w9pDCcb7Dx
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
However, upon further review, it's ... hard to see where Flagg actually committed the foul. Roberts was so focused on boxing him out that he didn't put a hand up for the rebound, and Flagg didn't seem to make additional contact while reaching for the ball.
The CBS broadcasters did not like the call.
Cooper Flagg called for a foul here. This gives Houston free throws on the other end. The announcers do not like the call pic.twitter.com/JwSNz6UWrB
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) April 6, 2025
In defense of the refs, seeing a player reach over the guy in front of him on a rebound is usually an auto-whistle. This was just a situation in which that reflex had very large consequences.
Houston went on to get another stop on a missed jumper by Flagg with eight seconds left, with L.J. Cryer making both free throws with three seconds left to put the finishing touches on a win that will be remembered by Duke critics for years to come.
The foul and ...
