Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm lost 75-80 to the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 matchup a couple of days ago. Duke advanced to the Elite Eight round, where they faced the UConn Huskies today.
Despite his team’s exit from the tournament, Pitino, as a college basketball fan, is still invested in the NCAA Tournament. Duke and UConn played one of the most exciting games of the season, and UConn came out as a winner.
Until the last few minutes of the game, it seemed like it was Duke’s game to win. They were dominating the Huskies from the beginning, ending the first half with 44-29. At one point, they led by as many as 19 points.
There was no way that Duke was going to lose the game, and then the March Madness magic did its thing. The Huskies went on a 22-10 run, making it a close game that no one was expecting.
Officiating was a major problem in tonight’s game. Fans on the internet were fuming over the refs ignoring multiple foul calls on Duke, which allowed them to maintain their lead. Head coach Dan Hurley was visibly frustrated on the sidelines.
He was constantly yelling at the refs and was “warned” for his behavior. In the final minute, when UConn had made it a close game, several fans argued that a potential charge should have been called against Duke, though it was not whistled.
Pitino also chimed in with his take, stating that it was “absurd”.
“That’s absurd. How can that not be a charge? Offense has way too much of an advantage,” he wrote.
The Blue Devils had a 72-70 lead and ball possession with 10 seconds left on the clock. Braylon Mullins stole the ball from Cayden Boozer and passed it to Alex Karaban. As he was being closely guarded, Karaban then sent the ball back to Mullins, who had an open look for a 35-foot shot.
Mullins made no mistake and hit the three to put UConn ahead by one point. And with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock, that marked the end of Duke’s NCAA Tournament journey this season.
Jon Scheyer Felt Sorry for His Players
It was a shocking turnaround for Duke as they were in control of the game until the last few minutes. They allowed UConn to cover up the deficit, and then Mullins took the ball, along with the game, away from Boozer.
After the game, head coach Jon Scheyer said that he felt bad for his players and that the result was devastating for them.
“I could not be more disappointed and feeling for our guys,” he said. “At the same time, I’m just trying to process what happened. I don’t have the words. I don’t have the words.”
It will be UConn’s third Final Four appearance in the last four years, and this might have been the last time we saw the Boozer brothers play together.
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