Nobody could believe their eyes watching Duke basketball fumble a 14-point second half lead away on Saturday night in the Final Four against Houston. Duke looked like the best team in the tournament for the entirety of the four-and-a-half games leading into the collapse, but Houston was able to snatch the victory in an all-time classic in San Antonio.

After the game, fans of both teams as well as basketball fans in general were shocked at the final result and at how we got there. Former Duke basketball star Paolo Banchero, now an All-Star for the Orlando Magic, was among the most surprised of the group, and he took to social media to share his sorrow.

“dawg that hurts 💔,” Banchero wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Of course, Banchero is no stranger to a heartbreaking los in the Final Four. In his only season at Duke in 2022, the Blue Devils marched all the way to the national semifinals before taking on arch rival North Carolina. The Tar Heels came into that game as just a No. 8 seed, but a great game from Caleb Love sent Duke home short of a championship.

Article Continues Below
Related Duke Basketball News

Duke didn't quite blow that game in 2022 like it did on Saturday night, but both losses will hurt all the same. Like Banchero was, Cooper Flagg is a freshman phenom who will be taken at the top of the NBA Draft this summer, but both fell at the same stage of the NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday night, the collapse was hardly the fault of Flagg, who had one of the best games of his college career. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals in an epic performance. However, it wasn't quite enough to get Duke over the line and into the title game.

Now, Duke's attention will turn to next season, when five-year recruit Cameron Boozer will be leading the way for Jon Scheyer and company. Flagg and most likely Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach will be gone, which makes this loss all the more heartbreaking for the Blue Devils and their fans.