NCAAB: Classic Duke Choke

The NCAA Men’s Tournament has come to an end. Once again, one of, if not the most recognizable name in college basketball, is not sitting atop the mountain.

The Duke Blue Devils lost to the Houston Cougars 70-67 on Saturday night to make it 10 seasons since their last national title.

According to ESPN’s Game Flow, which measures projected win probability, at the 8:17 mark of the second half, Duke had a 98.5% chance of beating the Cougars after going up 59-45.

So what happened to the Blue Devils?

It started with Houston’s smothering defense, which allowed the fewest points in the country at 58.6 points per game this season.

The defense held Duke, which was averaging almost 92 points per game in the tournament, to just 67 points, the second-lowest scoring output for the Blue Devils this season.

Over the last 10 and a half minutes of game time, Duke only converted one, yes one, field goal. It was all free throws for Duke besides one Cooper Flagg three-pointer with 3:03 to go in the second half.

After this shot, though, Houston would outscore Duke 15-3 over the final three minutes of the game, using its fantastic rebounding and timely shot-making.

Duke was further hurt when Tyrese Proctor missed the first of a one-and-one that could’ve put Duke up by three with 20 seconds remaining in the game.

Cooper Flagg had a chance near the end, but his fadeaway shot fell short and Houston came up with the victory to clinch their spot in the National Championship game against the Florida Gators.

It was a great basketball game throughout but it has further pushed Duke into this narrative of being huge chokers come March.

Ever since their last National Title in 2015, Duke has yet to make it back to the National Championship game despite having some of the most talented players in all of college basketball.

The list of players to never reach the top is pretty extensive.

Guys like RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones, Paolo Banchero, Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain and Flagg, assuming he leaves for the NBA.

You get the picture, it’s almost unfathomable that teams with players like his haven’t been able to get the job done in March but that’s the beauty of the tournament. It truly is anyone’s game on any given day.

Duke will be back though and if I had to bet, will be National Champs sooner rather than later. Jon Scheyer is a great head coach and the Duke brand will never lose its luster as long as college basketball is being played.

Evan Pochas is a second-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ejp5753@psu.edu.