The Duke Blue Devils’ March Madness journey ended on Sunday. They suffered a 73-72 loss at the hands of the UConn Huskies in the Elite Eight. Freshman guard Braylon Mullins scored a three-pointer in the dying moments of the game to seal the win for coach Dan Hurley and his team.
After the game, Duke freshman Nik Khamenia opened up about the disappointing loss that ended their quest for a national championship. While speaking with reporter Matt Giles in the locker room, he was visibly emotional while discussing his freshman journey with his team.
“Just the bond I built with these guys, gonna be my buddies for the rest of my life,” Khamenia said. “We’ve been through some battles together, obviously, the ups and downs. They’re forever my brothers, for sure.”
Coming out of Harvard-Westlake School, Nik Khamenia committed to Duke over offers from Gonzaga and UCLA. Before Sunday’s Elite Eight showdown, he played in all 37 games and averaged 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils entered March Madness as the ACC regular-season and tournament champions. They defeated St. John’s in the Sweet 16 to book a spot in the Elite Eight. Against the Huskies, Nik Khamenia scored seven points with two rebounds and one assist.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Shares His Thoughts After Disappointing Elite Eight Loss To UConn
In the postgame presser, Duke coach Jon Scheyer was left speechless with the way they lost to UConn in the Elite Eight.
He said he was ‘proud’ of the way his team played throughout the season, despite the failure to go on to win a national championship.
“I could not be more disappointed and feeling for our guys, at the same time of just trying to process what happened,” Scheyer said. “I don’t have the words. I don’t have the words. 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.”
“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. … I don’t have words other than just how proud I am of these guys and how disappointed we are,” he added.
The No. 2 UConn Huskies will face the No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four on Saturday.
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