Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils’ run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament came to an end yesterday. Going against the UConn Huskies, the Blue Devils, at one point, were leading by 19 and looked like they were going to advance to the Final Four.
However, a 22-10 run from UConn and the last-second three from Braylon Mullins crushed Duke’s dreams. They lost 72-73 in one of the craziest turnarounds of the season. With that loss, pressure started mounting on Scheyer.
Whenever a team loses, fans start demanding that the program fire the head coach. It has been the standard response for years. Asking Scheyer to quit after he took the program on a great run this season sounds unfair to Rick Pitino.
The St. John’s Red Storm head coach took to X to defend Scheyer. Interestingly, Duke defeated the Red Storm in their Sweet 16 matchup. Still, Pitino stood up for him, and he called Scheyer “one of the class acts in our game.”
Pitino also congratulated Dan Hurley’s UConn for staying in the fight despite trailing by double digits and eventually winning the game.
“Much congrats to a gritty UConn team that wouldn’t give up. For all those people out there trying to criticize Jon Scheyer, he is one helluva coach and one of the class acts in our game,” he wrote.
As per Pitino, Scheyer played the toughest schedule this season and still managed to secure the No. 1 seed.
“He played the toughest schedule and ended as the #1 overall seed. Championships will be in his future. UConn players and coaches, you have my utmost respect,” he added.
Duke finished the season with 35 wins and just three losses, which included their 17-1 run in the conference.
Jon Scheyer was Disappointed After the Loss
After the loss, Scheyer told the reporters that he felt sorry for his players. He heaped praise on the Duke roster for taking up a challenging schedule and dominating games until their run ended.
“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.”
“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.”
Scheyer praised the Duke players for battling injuries, adversities, and still showing up and giving their 100% for the team throughout the season.
Read More:
Is Tommy Lloyd Leaving Arizona? Wildcats AD Addresses Future Amid Contract Talks
Will Wade’s Roster Budget at LSU Reportedly Revealed as Matt McMahon Learns Fate
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
