Devastated at his locker after a humiliating turnover in the final seconds of Duke’s 73-72 loss to UConn in Sunday night’s NCAA Tournament East Region final, Cayden Boozer turned his emotions toward his brother, fellow Blue Devils freshman starter Cameron Boozer.
The pair that has led Duke to the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness after winning the ACC’s regular-season and tournament titles may not get another opportunity to star in the same lineup.
“It’s been a special year, being able to do what we did this year is really special,” Cayden Boozer said. “This is the last time we were able to choose this, so I was never going to pass that up. I just feel like I let him down.”
Nursing a two-point lead and 10 seconds away from reaching the Final Four, Duke’s point guard tried a pass over the top of two defenders near midcourt instead of dribbling out of a trap, leading to Braylon Mullins’ game-winner for the Huskies with 0.4 seconds to play.
The Blue Devils, who led by 19 points in the contest, fell victim to a well-executed defensive stop by UConn after Silas Demary deflected the pass from Boozer, leading to Mullins recovering possession. He made a quick pass to Alex Karaban, who tossed it back to Mullins for the open look from 35 feet.
“I saw Dame (Sarr) get trapped, I went to the outlet, obviously I saw two people down there, Isaiah (Evans) and Pat (Ngongba), just tried to get them the ball since Isaiah’s our best free-throw shooter. … I could’ve been stronger with the ball, and I let our team down,” Boozer said.
Duke’s all-time collapse says it again: Jon Scheyer has a March problem — until proven otherwise
Zachary Pereles
Cameron Boozer had no interest in placing blame on his brother, instead pointing to Duke’s lack of energy after intermission. Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils in scoring (22.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.2) this season as the ACC’s Player of the Year.
“I think we fought hard. We gave a lot, but I think as a whole we could have given a lot more in the second half. We came out a little flat and gave them a little bit of life,” he said. “When you’re playing a team as good as UConn, that’s all they really need.”
The loss marks the second straight season Duke advanced deep in the NCAA Tournament, only to squander a sizable lead. Anchored by Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, the Blue Devils surrendered a 14-point advantage in last year’s Final Four loss to Houston after the Cougars closed the game on a 9-0 run in the final 33 seconds.
Before Duke’s loss to UConn, No. 1 seeds had been 134-0 in NCAA Tournament play when leading by 15 points at halftime.
“I could not be more disappointed and feel for our guys, at the same time of just trying to process what happened. I don’t have the words. I don’t have the words,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “What I do know is literally this team, what each individual player went through just to play the game, I’ve never seen anything like it. What these guys did to have to get ready, their foot injuries, he’s got a black eye, he’s playing the whole game.
“I’m incredibly sorry for these guys that they’ve got to go through this. This is on us. We’re going to be in this together. The year that this guy’s had has been absolutely incredible, absolutely incredible. I don’t have words other than just how proud I am of these guys and how disappointed we are.”
Duke’s collapse is the latest proof the No. 1 overall seed means little in March
David Cobb
Duke finishes 35-3 this season and UConn is heading back to the Final Four for the third time in the last four seasons under two-time NCAA Tournament champion Dan Hurley.
