The Duke Blue Devils suffered an untimely exit from the NCAA Tournament. The UConn Huskies stormed back from a 19-point deficit to win the Elite Eight encounter 73-72 and knock out the Blue Devils, who were contenders for the national title.
Former North Carolina Tar Heels player Rashad McCants blamed Duke head coach Jon Scheyer for the loss, saying he was responsible for the team’s inability to deliver in crunch time.
“I think that when you’re up 19, as far as doing what you need to do that got you the lead, sustaining that, it’s a game of runs,” McCants said. “You know that if you go up 10, 12, 15, the other team is going to make a run. They’re going to try to sustain all of the little things that you’re doing to get up.
“But Duke has a history of playing basketball a certain way when they’re up. They like to hold the ball and basically play keep-away until the shot clock goes down, then try to make a play. But in this instance, they didn’t have anybody who could actually go get them a bucket.”
McCants said Scheyer should have asked his players to hold onto the ball more and play in a controlled fashion rather than try to move it around quickly, which allowed UConn to force turnovers and cut the lead.
“I don’t think it should be taken lightly because Duke has been promised this spot, and I’m glad it’s been taken from them because they don’t fu**ing* deserve it at all,” McCants said. “For the last 11 years, they’ve been failing to reach the top. All of their one-and-dones have not gotten to the place they were expected to go.
“And I think it’s because, at the tail end, Coach K was drifting off. Then you got Jon Scheyer coming in, and he’s coaching the way he played, where he got hot early, then fizzled out down the stretch and acted like he didn’t know how to play ball anymore. And I think that’s what they did. They acted like they didn’t know what basketball was near the end, and that results in a dagger. Splash.”
Duke’s History Under Jon Scheyer
What happened in the Elite Eight encounter has been happening far too often for Duke under Jon Scheyer.
With the loss against UConn, Duke became the first No. 1 seed to lose after leading by 15+ at halftime (134-0 before). Turnovers and poor second-half execution were key.
Last year, in the Final Four against Houston, Scheyer’s team led late in the game but ended up losing 70-67. It marked another night when Duke controlled most of the game but couldn’t close.
In 2024, they lost to NC State, an 11-seed, in the Elite Eight. They didn’t blow a lead on that occasion, but they were firm favorites to advance.
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