By The Numbers: Breaking down Duke’s beautiful Closing 4 collapse

Duke appeared prefer it was heading to the nationwide championship sport for the twelfth time in program historical past. With 1:26 left within the sport, freshman phenom Cooper Flagg calmly drained two free throws to provide the Blue Devils a seven-point lead over Houston. 

Then the Cougars channeled the “Clutch Metropolis” nickname of their hometown and went on an unbelievable 11-1 run. 

Flagg even had the prospect to make the go-ahead basket when he drove to the lane with eight seconds on the clock, however the ball hit the rim and senior guard LJ Cryer closed out Houston’s 70-67 win on the free-throw line.

It was a wild end, and the numbers again that up. Listed below are 10 of them to know from the Closing 4 thriller.

1: Duke entered Saturday evening averaging 83.7 factors per sport and rating first in KenPom’s offensive effectivity score. However the Blue Devils had only one (ONE!) subject objective over the ultimate 10:31 of the sport. It must also be famous that Houston boasts KenPom’s prime defensive rating this season.

3: Houston made simply three of its first 17 subject objective makes an attempt of the evening. The Cougars completed by making three of their last 4 subject objective makes an attempt within the last 2:05.

6-of-9: Flagg and freshman teammate Kon Knueppel led the way in which for the Blue Devils. The youngsters had been the one two Duke gamers to attain in double figures and mixed to go 6-of-9 from 3. The remainder of the Duke lineup was simply 1-of-8 from behind the arc. On the opposite sideline, Cryer went 6-of-9 from deep as Houston linked on practically half (10-of-22) of its 3-point makes an attempt.

10: The starters for each groups did a lot of the heavy lifting. There have been solely 10 complete bench factors within the sport. Houston obtained six factors from its non-starters, whereas all 4 of Duke’s bench factors got here from Maliq Brown.

13: Flagg may need missed the potential game-winner, however he was additionally the one Duke participant to make a shot within the final 13 minutes. The Picket Award winner completed with a game-high 27 factors in what was possible his last collegiate sport.

14: With 11:54 left within the sport, Houston trailed 56-42 earlier than staging its comeback. The Cougars then grew to become the third staff since 2022 to rally from a 14-point deficit within the Closing 4. Kansas in 2022 and San Diego State in 2023 had been the opposite two. 

21: If the loss felt like deja vu for Duke followers, it was 21 years in the past when the Blue Devils misplaced in related trend within the Closing 4. In 2004, Duke was main UConn by seven factors with simply over three minutes to go earlier than shedding an in depth one. That sport, like Saturday evening’s, was additionally held in San Antonio. 

33: Cryer was the primary participant in 33 years to have 25 factors and 6 3-pointers in a nationwide semifinal. The final to take action? Bobby Hurley within the 1992 Closing 4 with, coincidentally, Duke. 

58.9: Houston was down 67-66 with 19.6 seconds left when J’Wan Roberts, a profession 58.9 % free throw shooter, went to the road. The senior ahead made each free-throw makes an attempt to provide the Cougars their first lead since they went forward 6-5 with 15:25 left within the first half.

97.1: On the 2:30 mark, Duke’s win chance was 97.1%, its highest all night. The Blue Devils led 64-55 and Houston’s Milos Uzan missed a 3-point shot. Because of offensive rebounding, the Cougars had a pair extra possibilities on the possession earlier than Emanuel Sharp laid it in. They missed only one extra subject objective the remainder of the way in which.

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