Going in to the tournament and going into the final four I thought Florida was the likely favorite / winner when I put on my objective hat.

But 37 minutes into this game I was thinking, “We can beat Florida. They are not as physical or athletic.” But we simply could not get there.

It would have been nice to have a guard who could score. Kon sort of was that but he could not really create his own shot or get open much. Probably needed to find a way to get a few more 3s from him.

Their D was great.

But we still should have wan the **** game.

Duke Played Well the first 33 minutes, the flagrant on Gillis gave Houston the momentum, because that was a 6 point scoring possession for Houston and Duke went from being up 14 points to only being up 8 points with 7 minutes left in the game.

Terrible execution on Duke’s part the last 7 minutes of the game, imo Maluach, Proctor, and Gillis should have been sitting on the bench more in the 2nd half.

Flagg
Knueppel
James
Foster
Brown
Ngongba

^ these guys should have closed out the game for Duke

Live and Learn

I am still gutted. I mentioned 2004 and 1999 as other difficult losses. 86 was also. 2004 though, we were not the favorite. So it did not sting to near this degree. Even though I think we got robbed in 04.

But this game. With a 9 point lead. And we really were the better team most of the game. I think that this and 99 will go down as the most painful losses. This one hurts much more now.

Just devastating as a fan.

I’d rather lose by 20. But man. So many plays I can’t get out of my head. Both Sion and Proctor dribbling the ball off their knees out of bounds late. Not guarding their guards on the perimeter late. Missing open 3s. Sometimes passing in open 3s.

Even though we rebuilt the lead a bit, the inadvertent flagrant 1 on Gillis was a big turning point. We were up 59-45. They hit a 3 and then we gave them 3 more off that F1. 59-51 and they had belief. You could see it and feel it. He just had to keep his arm down it would have been fine.

I thought Scheyer coached an excellent first half. He’s a great coach and has been great all season. But I think he got tight in the second half just like the team. The two things I’d like to have back from a coaching standpoint:

1) not playing the bench in the second half - esp. Ngongba in the second half. He adds physicality and length. But also was an offensive threat. Malik played really well but we could have used a bigger body at times. I also thought Foster could have gotten minutes in the second and should have rested Flagg some and the rest of the unit just a couple more minutes.

2) Apparently we have no inbounds plays. Other than run a couple of different ways and try to get open. I loved what Florida did in the first game. Lining everyone up out of bounds. And it worked. And the only people it seemed he wanted receiving the inbounds were Copper and Kon. Let Maluach get it. Let Flagg in bounds the ball as a) he’s taller and b) he’s our best passer. Have a play where you in bound it and pass it back to him right away. Gotta have more variety and cover more bases there. We just were not prepared.

I still can’t get over this. Beyond devastating. I hate being a sports fan sometimes. The agony of defeat is too much. I won’t watch Monday.

Great post. But what an awful way to lose. It's one of the top five worst losses in Duke basketball history. I slept an hour, tops. I doubt I can sleep at all for a long while. I needed a couple more wins for the positive distraction. Nothing can be done about it. Jon will learn and be even better next year. Unfortunately, this team will look nothing like it did this year.

springsportster said:

The officiating was good most of that game. But I disagree with the foul on Flagg. Bottom line is we should not have been in that position that a call like that would impact us. I'd rather lose by 30 than lose a 6 point lead with a minute left. Ugh.... That one hurt.

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There was no call on James being slammed to the floor, incidental contact on clearing out for a rebound gave Gillis a BS tech, our guys being mugged at the rim, Houston holding our guys on the inbounds and getting away with it, and Flagg's over-the-back call are just some of the egregious calls/no calls in that final 8:17. Duke made mistakes. Still, both things can be true, and they are.

Bengals4life said:

Got to be biggest choke job in history of sports

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Whether you’re a troll or not, yes our boys choked. Played more than good enough to win the first 30 minutes, up double digits.
But the saying is true, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Bengals4life said:

Got to be biggest choke job in history of sports

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**** off troll

youngman42 said:

Dude. I haven't read what everyone has said about Proctor. But a) fans get angry and frustrated like anyone else. And a board like this is a way to express one's frustrations as well as observations. Better than doing it some other way.

Lighten up.

And, b) Stating the reality that Proctor had a bad game and, frankly, did not perform when Duke needed him to, and expected him to, the most is not "trashing" him. It's a fact. He shot terribly from 3, missing every one (0-4) and they were open 3s, after shooting 41% in the season. And he went 3-5 from the line, but most crucially one of those misses was the front end of a one-and-one. His FT shooting has inexplicably gone from 87% as a freshman (1.7 of 1.9 per game) to 68% as s Jr. (1.3 of 1.9 per game). It's disappointing. If no one cared about that and wasn't frustrated then they wouldn't be a passionate fan.

I feel bad for him, he's been a good team player, but there's no sugar coating the fact that he did not show up offensively in this game the way Duke needed and expected him to. He makes his FTs, or even goes 5-6 including both in the 1 & 1, and shoots 1 of 4 (25%) from 3, we win the game.

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Talking about him playing bad is one thing but they're are loads of people trashing him everywhere. And Jon too.

bleediteveryday30 said:

Dude, I'm done with these people who trash our players and coaches. We have a thread with people talking about how wrong they were about Scheyer and now he's trash to some? Bullshit. Proctor is being trashed by some here and all over the place. It's a shame. These kids gave us everything and people turn on them just like that. I'm disgusted in the way we lost and the reactions of some of our "fans".

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Dude. I haven't read what everyone has said about Proctor. But a) fans get angry and frustrated like anyone else. And a board like this is a way to express one's frustrations as well as observations. Better than doing it some other way.

Lighten up.

And, b) Stating the reality that Proctor had a bad game and, frankly, did not perform when Duke needed him to, and expected him to, the most is not "trashing" him. It's a fact. He shot terribly from 3, missing every one (0-4) and they were open 3s, after shooting 41% in the season. And he went 3-5 from the line, but most crucially one of those misses was the front end of a one-and-one. His FT shooting has inexplicably gone from 87% as a freshman (1.7 of 1.9 per game) to 68% as s Jr. (1.3 of 1.9 per game). It's disappointing. If no one cared about that and wasn't frustrated then they wouldn't be a passionate fan.

I feel bad for him, he's been a good team player, but there's no sugar coating the fact that he did not show up offensively in this game the way Duke needed and expected him to. He makes his FTs, or even goes 5-6 including both in the 1 & 1, and shoots 1 of 4 (25%) from 3, we win the game.

I don't know but this is a top tier painful loss that I will never get over. Ever.

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I know. Sorry man. We should have ******** won that game.
Just read we had a 98% chance of winning with 8 minutes left.
We were up 9 with 2:05 left. How does this happen?
Did Lucas leaving early matter? Considering we gave up 10 points in the last minute it's a fair question.

I care too much.

Glad you're not a Boston College fan.

I doubt I sleep much for a long while.

I will sleep but will feel like crap in the morning. I won't watch Monday. I really don't care.

Same bleed😒😒

I don't know when I will sleep, but it won't be tonight.

Top 10 guys don't come back; and we had 3.

If Proctor doesn't declare he's returning to Duke for his senior year, I think we know Flagg, Kon, and Mal are gone. Gillis and James are out of eligibility. Who knows about the rest? Mal should come back, but his situation probably ends any talk of that. The days of returning a ton of guys are over. This team was so special and that makes this hurt so much more.

Mal's lottery though. Him, Cooper and Kon are 100 % gone.

christophero said:

Not sure Proctor helped his draft stock tonight. Hope he returns. He was already mid 2nd round. He seemed kind of distant in some of the locker room videos like Roach was last year, but who knows. I love seniors so I'd love him back.

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Him and Mal didn't help their stock.

Not sure Proctor helped his draft stock tonight. Hope he returns. He was already mid 2nd round. He seemed kind of distant in some of the locker room videos like Roach was last year, but who knows. I love seniors so I'd love him back.