College basketball fans were upset with a foul call on Cooper Flagg late in the Duke Blue Devils’ epic collapse against the Houston Cougars in the Final Four on Saturday night.
Duke was shooting free throws with 19.6 seconds left in the game and up one point. Guard Tyrese Proctor’s shot went off the rim and bounced toward Flagg. As the future NBA pro fought with two Houston players for the ball, a referee blew the whistle and called a loose-ball foul on Flagg.
J’Wan Roberts made two free throws to put Houston up one point. Duke missed a few shots down the stretch and the Cougars won the game 70-67 to advance to the national championship.
Duke and fans were left in disbelief.
“Got to give them a lot of credit for what they do every single night they play,” Flagg said after the game. “We could have been a little bit more sharp down the stretch executing some things. At the end of the day, you got to give them a lot of credit, as well.”
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Houston closed the game on a 9-0 run in the final 33 seconds. Flagg had 27 points.
“Knowing going into that game that he was the player of the year, that he brought his team to the Final Four, we knew it would be challenging,” Roberts said.
Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer lamented the collapse
“It’s heartbreaking, it’s incredibly disappointing,” he said. “There’s a lot of pain that comes with this. That’s what the tournament is all about.”
Houston will play Florida in the title game. The Cougars have never won a national championship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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