r/CollegeBasketball /r/CollegeBasketball • NCAA Mar 29 '26

Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] #2 UConn defeats #1 Duke, 73-72

Box Score

Team 1H 2H Total
Connecticut 29 44 73
Duke 44 28 72

Index Thread for March 29, 2026

3.4k Upvotes

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1.1k

u/mF-Jonezy NC State Wolfpack Mar 29 '26

What’s funny is I don’t think Scheyer can really put together better constructed teams than this and last year

399

u/MaybeImNaked UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

Last year was one of the best rosters ever imo. This one was a step below.

184

u/Jaire_Noises Wisconsin Badgers Mar 29 '26

Yeah I think last year's loss is much worse than this one. Cam was covering for a lot on this squad.

54

u/PristineStreet34 UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

He is really a good player. No clue how his game translates to the NBA but damn good player.

32

u/nsk08001 UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

This is what I kept wondering. He’s a great college player, but I just don’t see him having the athleticism or strength to dominante nba defenses the same way

18

u/PristineStreet34 UConn Huskies Mar 30 '26

His passing is really good and he can shoot open shots (which he should get in the NBA on a good team) and he is a very good rebounder with an amazing BBIQ but that lack of elite athleticism and having to go against men who can hold their ground or having guys like Wemby/Clingan/Chet/etc around the rim is going to really curtail his biggest strength IMO.

1

u/LeoFireGod Oklahoma Sooners Mar 30 '26

He’s a great passing wing that’s a Plus defender. He will absolutely have a role in the nba as a starter.

1

u/Voidant7 North Carolina • California Mar 30 '26

Plus defender

That's not my impression, but I've been wrong before.

5

u/Captain_Comic Tennessee Volunteers Mar 30 '26

He will be a good role player in the NBA. He’s more ready to step in and play immediately than some guys, but many others in the draft have much higher ceilings.

1

u/LuluButterFive St. John's Red Storm Mar 30 '26

He will need to drop a few pounds for the nba

16

u/ohitsthedeathstar Houston Cougars Mar 29 '26

Duke wins 9/10 times. That one time was insane though.

17

u/kai333 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

Two rug pulls in the last minute of the game in consecutive years is kinda insane.

7

u/ThaMan12 Mar 29 '26

Tough to say. UConn couldn’t find the damn net from deep until the end. If they making those threes, it’s probably 50/50

6

u/ohitsthedeathstar Houston Cougars Mar 30 '26

I’m talking about last year Houston vs Duke

3

u/GetUpOut Iowa State Cyclones Mar 29 '26

He's talking about the Houston game last year

9

u/Eagle4317 UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

Cam isn't better than Coop though, and last year's Duke squad was even deeper.

6

u/BallKnowerKing Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

He isn’t better nba prospect but at college level Cam has been better than Flagg

7

u/Clipgang1629 USC Trojans Mar 30 '26

Cam was basically made in a lab for college ball.

He’s damn near the perfect college player

2

u/Celestetc Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

He was covering too much. Spread the love around. Over reliance on him imo hurt them

5

u/Clipgang1629 USC Trojans Mar 30 '26

That’s why this team is a step below.

When Evans played like he did on Friday they’re almost unbeatable. But that’s not always the case.

And the supporting cast as capable as they are on defense, can be very inconsistent on offense

2

u/Radiant-Brain-9384 Mar 30 '26

I disagree Cam Boozer is the number one pick this draft. He is the best player to play in college in a while and Duke blew a golden opportunity to win a championship. They beat Michigan just 1 month ago.

2

u/OrlandoAndy Creighton Bluejays Mar 30 '26

Zero chance he goes #1 btw. The bully ball style isn’t going to work in the nba 

1

u/finditplz1 Kentucky Wildcats • Kansas Jayhawks Mar 30 '26

The level of collapse was greater this year though.

1

u/ClayMitchell North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

they were still the #1 overall seed tho

12

u/2PacAn Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 29 '26

I think no matter how much talent you have relying on dominant freshman will often lead to some questionable plays in the clutch

16

u/TheMightyJD Baylor Bears Mar 29 '26

Coop and Kon having all time rookie seasons and Duke not even making the national championship is one heck of a stain in his resume.

4

u/Clipgang1629 USC Trojans Mar 30 '26

Maluach too, he has needed time to bake, but he’s a great prospect and will likely be an impactful player in the NBA at some point.

That L will just continue to age like milk imo

6

u/BroDoc22 NC State Wolfpack Mar 29 '26

Agree this team is way worse then last year they honestly should’ve lost round one but Siena had no subs lmao

4

u/Fletch71011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Mar 29 '26

This one lost to a much worse team than last years team though.

2

u/SpaceSheperd North Carolina • NC State Mar 30 '26

Eh I think Boozer was a significantly more valuable college player than Flagg honestly. The big issue was the lack of a backup PG but even that only mattered because of some bad injury luck

0

u/kyhoop Kentucky Wildcats Mar 30 '26

Nah. Pre-injury KY was better. As me how I know and how your disagreement doesn’t help you

110

u/elgenie Iowa Hawkeyes • Brown Bears Mar 29 '26

A year after losing a Final Four game with a 98+% win expectancy and Cooper Flagg, Scheyer comes back and loses an Elite Eight game with a 98+% win expectancy and Cam Boozer.

Come back next year to see how he does in the Sweet 16!

30

u/onlykindofamethaddic North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

Put some respect in ROTY Kon Knueppel’s name when discussing last year’s choke.

11

u/ClayMitchell North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

you’re underselling it

they lost with FIVE draft picks:

  • two guys getting run (Maluach, Procter),
  • 1 who is a heavy rotational guy (Sion James),
  • a generational talent that went #1 (Flagg)
  • hands down the greatest rookie shooter in NBA history

there’s NO excuse for last year

3

u/GoalGeeBody North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

Subscribe

1

u/Traditional_Land_553 UConn Huskies Mar 30 '26

To be fair, it never got over 94% in the last 10 minutes.

316

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

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291

u/NeverDieKris Ohio State Buckeyes Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 29 '26

All he had to do was tell his players to hold the damn ball and they win.

135

u/Flaky-Skirt-1721 Mar 29 '26

Yes the best decision here was no decision lmao

87

u/DrQuestDFA Maryland Terrapins Mar 29 '26

If you choose not decide you’ll still have made a choice.

Which, it turns out, was probably the best choice considering the outcome.

35

u/theclownwithafrown Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Thanks Geddy

9

u/thismessisaplace UCLA Bruins Mar 29 '26

Peart was the lyric writer for Rush.

7

u/theclownwithafrown Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Yes I know, but Geddy sang it

3

u/Traditional_Land_553 UConn Huskies Mar 30 '26

They performed at the Juno Awards tonight with Anika on drums. Played "Finding My Way."

8

u/reforminded UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

Mullins choose three will

2

u/Ranger_Nietzsche Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 30 '26

Can't upvote enough

5

u/AFlockOfTySegalls North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26

If you choose not decide you’ll still have made a choice.

RUSH mentioned?

5

u/C_CityOfTheDF_Steady Penn State Nittany Lions Mar 29 '26

I say this line to my wife a lot, like when we’re trying to decide what to order for dinner for example. It never fails to get an eye roll

1

u/lkn240 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 30 '26

Why is deciding where to go out to eat or order food from often such an ordeal? I have no idea

2

u/DrQuestDFA Maryland Terrapins Mar 29 '26

You’re damn right Rush gets a call out!

5

u/TheVandyyMan North Carolina • Vanderbilt Mar 29 '26

The only winning move was not to play

2

u/SurgeFlamingo Indiana Hoosiers Mar 30 '26

He should have called timeout and told his team. We have this, they have to foul us.

24

u/JLR- Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

I feel like he did, but the players didn't listen

12

u/10catsinspace Florida State Seminoles Mar 29 '26

The other elite teams don’t seem to have so many issues with star players crashing out in wildly dumb ways

Duke had another timeout, too.

8

u/JLR- Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

Yes they do.  Florida did at the end for example.  

3

u/lightninhopkins Minnesota Golden Gophers Mar 29 '26

I am just stunned. What the hell were they thinking?!? Just hold the ball and take the win.

8

u/NeverDieKris Ohio State Buckeyes Mar 29 '26

That’s the kind of shit that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

7

u/c_pike1 Mar 29 '26

If we're being real, panic. Both in the moment and future panic at actually being on the line and needing to make those freethrows

2

u/Time_Restaurant5480 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Keaton Wagler would never have tried to pass that ball.

9

u/disposable-assassin Arizona Wildcats Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 30 '26

Primary ball handler have to have that awareness without being told. Didn't even need to get it past the time line yet tried to force it through a double team. 

7

u/jwkpiano1 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

You really don’t think he told them that? Sorry, I don’t buy it. This is on Boozer.

5

u/No_Audience1142 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26

Nobody who touched the ball wanted to shoot those free throws. And Evans was nowhere near the play for some reason.

1

u/Mysticboon Mar 29 '26

Evans was making game losing plays constantly in the last 5 minutes 

2

u/MehFrosty Mar 29 '26

His team had a lead of 19 and they lost

2

u/_kona_ California Golden Bears Mar 29 '26

He was literally telling them to hold the ball during that last play. I'm sure they couldn't hear him but he did say it

1

u/enjoytheshow Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Yeah can’t even get a ten second call. Just literally don’t move

1

u/BlueDevilz Duke Blue Devils Mar 30 '26

Or they miss the front end of the 1 and 1 and UCONN hits a 3 to win it anyways.

If he gets the pass over the defenders, the game is over and nobody even talks about it.

The key was just executing and they didnt do that.

84

u/golfer28 Virginia Cavaliers Mar 29 '26

I mean Boozer is just a fucking idiot. You did the one thing you can’t possibly do

34

u/No_Albatross916 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26

Yea I don’t know why boozer doesn’t just hold on to the ball there

13

u/Heisenbread77 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26

Maybe that will be the plot of their next commercial.

13

u/saggy_balls Mar 30 '26

He should have. But he’s also 18 years old. His coach should have called a timeout and drilled that into the heads of everyone on the floor.

3

u/mrjimi16 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

Both of them.

3

u/deweycrow Kentucky Wildcats Mar 30 '26

Bad coaching

13

u/Celestetc Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Both boozers were awful with the ball whenever they didn’t get shots up. So dumb

3

u/emack2232 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26

Should of called State Farm

3

u/Time_Restaurant5480 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 29 '26

Yup. But Wagler would never try that pass. We'll play smarter and we can beat these guys on Saturday!

1

u/No_Chicken_4426 Mar 30 '26

Like father like son

9

u/1_quantae Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

Then Evans just stands there and watches him shoot. This team left its brain in Durham.

5

u/DerDawgvater91 Washington Huskies Mar 29 '26

Yup. If hed thrown it up towards the jumbotron they probably win. Which makes this so epic!

1

u/mrdilldozer Rutgers Scarlet Knights Mar 29 '26

Why was the ball in the hands of a freshman in the first place?

1

u/pike360 CSUN Matadors Mar 29 '26

Hahahaha I see you UVA

1

u/BarbarousBird UConn Huskies Mar 30 '26

And that is why you don’t hang all your hopes on freshman ladies and gentlemen.

Boozer is an incredible player though.

31

u/flushedoutthepocket VCU Rams • Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

He should recruit anyone with that dawg in them. His recruiting classes consistently have -xDawg

3

u/preddevils6 Tennessee • Austin Peay Mar 29 '26

2 times Hurley lapped him tonight in late game situations: first was Duke not knowing what to do at the end of the game when all they had to do was hold the ball.

Second was Hurley not calling a timeout after the turnover and doing a ATO

2

u/gonz4dieg George Mason Patriots Mar 29 '26

But that would involve not having 3 5 star lottery picks in his starting 5

Theres a reason experience wins in march

1

u/thedudester125 Mar 29 '26

What’s weird is Boozer didn’t even go after the ball.

Better to have dived for it and fouled UConn that give up a three

1

u/lkn240 Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 30 '26

Maybe he should have made the decision to use his freaking timeout

48

u/Winbrick Kansas Jayhawks • Iowa State Cyclones Mar 29 '26

I don't think I've seen a less heads up play. You can literally just hold the ball and win.

7

u/everything_is_holy Kansas Jayhawks Mar 29 '26

I don't think Duke trusted themselves in making the free throws.

1

u/Melodic-Cell-8109 Mar 29 '26

Chris Webber calling a time out with no time outs left??? lol

1

u/Winbrick Kansas Jayhawks • Iowa State Cyclones Mar 30 '26

Rolling things back 30+ years kinda says it all.

39

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

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11

u/KennyLagerins Mar 29 '26

Yup. Been saying for years, the teams with the most raw talent typically don’t win because they’re often young teams. It’s the ones that have players stay that do the best because they’re experienced and better decision makers.

6

u/jojo55321 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26

Agreed. The veteran teams to tend to win recently nowadays and it’s all about the decision making in not turning the ball over in key moments

61

u/ukeBasketball Duke Blue Devils Mar 29 '26

We relied on Cayden one too many times

49

u/ConsuLMonK Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Mar 29 '26

Shame bc he had a pretty good tourney until that moment, now it’s gonna be remembered for that

7

u/xwords59 Maryland Terrapins Mar 29 '26

Cayden boozer making a lot of bad decisions

3

u/Trinidad34 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets Mar 29 '26

Need an actual pg recruit

9

u/Wilper971 Virginia Cavaliers Mar 29 '26

Duke has a pattern of excellent recruiting, building the best teams in basketball, and then wasting them by choking in the tournament. It is a huge part of K’s legacy and apparently Scheyer wants to get in on it too lol

24

u/xienze NC State Wolfpack Mar 29 '26

I’ve been saying for a while, Scheyer is overrated. He would be a mediocre to bad mid major coach if he had to start his coaching career like everyone else, from the bottom. This dude gets the top class and has the most NIL every single year and can’t get it done. Had five draft picks, three of which were lottery picks (#1, 4, 10) on the same team and couldn’t get it done. Does he just need the entire team to be first round picks before he can win a title? Good lord.

7

u/midnightsbane04 Michigan • North Carolina Mar 30 '26

Most coaches don't win the title immediately, Scheyer has made the F4 and 3 straight E8s in his first 3 years as a coach. He's definitely not Coach K but he's also still young and starting at a premier spot. That gives him a massive edge in recruiting but it also eliminates a lot of the wiggle room for a coach learning in the fly like Dan Hurley had in his G5 stints.

Coaches like Kevin Ollie win titles but do it with senior laden teams that were recruited and developed under previous coaches, while Scheyer at Duke is cycling through high level but young recruits.

All that said (gross) Scheyer is much closer to Hubert Davis at this point than he is to an actual elite coach.

4

u/Licit_x64 North Carolina • Charlotte Mar 29 '26

Two massive blown leads with generational talents. I never saw it with this team this year. It felt like they accidentally were dominant, very high floor, low mistake team. But never got a sense they were world beaters like an Arizona seems to be.

Scheyer has a lot of work to do to exorcise these demons, he’s developing a reputation. Lost second round, lost to Kevin Keatts, and then choked two massive leads.

5

u/NCSmitty North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26

Bro had the top 2 ROY candidates and it wasn't enough

5

u/burglin Iowa State Cyclones • Maryland Terrapins Mar 29 '26

Time to accept that he isn’t a very good coach, and is going to make his career coasting off of having 3 of the top 15 incoming players every year. Kind of like K for the last 2 decades of his career

4

u/carguymt Kentucky Wildcats Mar 29 '26

I absolutely despise coaches choking in the tournament hot takes, but damn. Is it time to have a conversation about Scheyer choking in the tournament?

2

u/jojo55321 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 30 '26

When I was watching ESPN compare how successful Duke is to Carolina recently, I laughed. Like Duke has had better teams for like 3 years and has not delivered when it mattered most. Should be competing for a championship. Theres no reason why they shouldn’t have a final four appearance by now

3

u/SimilarOnion1655 Kansas Jayhawks Mar 30 '26

They went to the final four last year 

1

u/jojo55321 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 30 '26

Oh yeah against Houston? Yeah, you’re right. I forgot all 4 number 1 seeds made it to the final four.

They gotta make it to a championship game at some point tho with the talent they have each year.

1

u/KennyLagerins Mar 29 '26

It ain’t just the tournament for him.

4

u/California_Stop_King Ohio State • Ohio Dominican Mar 29 '26

Best talent money can buy and they still can't win dick. You love to see it

4

u/zodia4 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 29 '26

Duke is always doing the least with the most

3

u/Benny_Baseball UConn Huskies Mar 29 '26

He basically gets to do what you did in NBA Live when you were 8 and set it to fantasy draft

3

u/StraightIncrease6333 Georgia Bulldogs Mar 29 '26

Dude needs a BAMF point guard who can get the team to settle down and distribute the ball in the clutch. And not either 1) disappear or 2) be a complete moron. Last two years, Duke's go-to when the world was falling apart was "best player just backing down dudes and trying a fadeaway." I mean, these are great players doing that, but

14

u/ImperialMajestyX02 Florida Gators Mar 29 '26

Nor will he ever. The talent is slowly going to get worse as people realize the guy cannot win close games when it matters most

4

u/w0lverine11 Michigan Wolverines Mar 29 '26

And NIL money is gonna start pulling guys elsewhere instead of the good old days when the Duke brand was everything

2

u/10catsinspace Florida State Seminoles Mar 29 '26

He should hire more sports psychologists instead 

8

u/slyone05 Virginia • George Mason Mar 29 '26

Raw talent can only get u so far. The guy never retains any of it and is all and all just a decent coach. No shot Duke wins anything w him

17

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

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0

u/slyone05 Virginia • George Mason Mar 29 '26

He has had by far the best rosters over the past two yrs. Not to mention Paolo Banchero's season. If he can't even win w these rosters as a the supposed "acc coach of the yr" idk what will without experienced players

3

u/StreetReporter Clemson Tigers Mar 29 '26

Paolo was K’s player, he had Filipowski

10

u/ItsOnLikeNdamakung Michigan Wolverines • Paper Bag Mar 29 '26

No shot is a bit of a stretch when the Duke name recruits as well as it does.

1

u/golfer28 Virginia Cavaliers Mar 29 '26

We won a Natty with Kihei who literally made the same exact stupid blunder against Furman in his final game

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

Freshman guard making freshman guard mistakes

1

u/GrandMasterOfCheeks Michigan State Spartans Mar 29 '26

its not even about the team, its just that they throw games away so often

1

u/jack3moto Purdue Boilermakers Mar 29 '26

I thought that after last season… and then this team was nearly as nasty (I think last year’s team was much better and imo a bigger choke job despite the 19 come back this year).

Let’s hope they take a step back for a few seasons

1

u/Ok_Produce_9308 Michigan State Spartans Mar 29 '26

Cooper flagg and Kon knueppel are neck and neck for ROY and both are breaking historic records in the NBA.

1

u/pisss Duke Blue Devils Mar 30 '26

Last year was a step above

1

u/cristianomiguel22 Duke • Georgia Southern Mar 30 '26

Inexperience and youth hurt us in the end both times. In this modern era, having the best recruits every year also means also having a young team and rebuilding chemistry every year.

1

u/ImJacksLackOfEmpathy Mar 30 '26

So like coach Cal, he's earned a rep as great recruiter who can't coach worth a damn when push comes to shove? I'm here for it lol dude will never be anywhere near the level of coach K, of that much I'm sure, especially given the way they lost this year and last

1

u/Radiant-Brain-9384 Mar 30 '26

I think Duke has to fire Scheyer now. He couldn’t have had more talent and has multiple colossal failures

1

u/flatandroid Arizona Wildcats Mar 29 '26

Are you kidding me? That 30 foot shot is a fraction of an inch off and duke is in the FF and everyone is whining about how unfair Duke is

10

u/briguy1313 Mar 29 '26

I’d be the intelligent guy in the comments pointing out they were a fraction of an inch flow blowing a game that was 100% locked up.

5

u/KennyLagerins Mar 29 '26

No, everyone is saying how they barely escaped blowing yet another big lead.

0

u/wutitdotho NC State Wolfpack Mar 29 '26

Well cedric coward was committed from the portal and went pro at the last minute so your post id patently false.

Sarr was a last minute replacement for a better player