The lack of competitive games within the ACC this season was detrimental for Duke at the Final Four, evidenced by Saturday night’s collapse against Houston, according to ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas. The former Blue Devils star explained his reasoning on “College GameDay” prior to Monday night’s national championship game.
“I thought the biggest factor in the game was the fact that Duke was inexperienced in close games,” Bilas said. “And that’s where I felt the ACC really let ’em down. Everybody else in this Final Four had played games that came down to the wire day after day and game after game. It reminded me of 1991 when Duke was playing UNLV in the national semifinal. They were undefeated, but they hadn’t played in a close game.”
Houston has four losses this season, three coming in overtime.
“They’ve got a team that’s not afraid … and they’re fearless of consequences,” Bilas said. “They’re taking it to make it. They’re making the play and not worried about the consequences of not making the play. I thought that sharpness of being in so many close games was really the difference. Duke hadn’t been there before and Houston had been there multiple times.”
Duke held a 14-point lead in the second half of the semifinal before squandering it in the final moments. Freshman star Cooper Flagg was called for a critical foul in the last minute and missed what could’ve been a go-ahead jumper on the Blue Devils’ second-to-last possession that ended an otherwise historic season for the nation’s top player.
Flagg dribbled toward the top of the key and tried a turnaround jumper, but the ball hit the front of the rim, leading to Houston’s win-clinching free throws.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s the play coach drew up. Took it into the paint,” Flagg said. “Thought I got my feet set, rose up. Left it short obviously. A shot I’m willing to live with in the scenario. I went up on the rim, trust the work that I’ve put in.”
Flagg finished with a game-high 27 points.
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“Frankly, the game, we did what we wanted to do,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in the aftermath. “I thought our guys followed the game plan, controlled the game, we had the lead for 35 minutes, winning by six with a minute 15 to go. They made plays. You got to give ’em a ton of credit. We didn’t make those plays.
“You go from some of the most special moments in the tournament to the most heartbreaking loss. I’m not about to feel sorry for one second. These guys have done an incredible job. It’s heartbreaking. It’s incredibly disappointing. There’s a lot of pain that comes with this. That’s what the tournament is all about. You’re an inch away from the national championship game.”
