Duke vs Houston: Final Four 2025 Ends in Controversial Call on Cooper Flagg

It’s hard to justify a team that managed just one field goal in the last 10 minutes of a Final Four matchup, yet Duke has at least one reason for its historic collapse against Houston on Saturday.

The outcome of the game came down to a pivotal moment with 20 seconds remaining. By then, Houston had narrowed a once 14-point gap to just one point, while Duke held possession. Junior Tyrese Proctor found himself at the free-throw line, where two successful shots would have forced the Cougars to hit a three-pointer to tie the game.

However, Proctor missed the first of his one-and-one opportunity, and things took a turn for the worse. Following the rebound, Duke’s standout player Cooper Flagg was called for a foul, sending J’Wan Roberts to the line due to Houston being in the bonus. Roberts converted both free throws, giving his team the lead for the first time since the 14:42 mark of the first half.

On closer inspection, the foul call on Cooper Flagg that flipped the game on its head was… questionable at best. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what the officials saw. Flagg went up cleanly for the rebound, and while Houston’s J’Wan Roberts was boxing him out hard, he never actually attempted to grab the ball. From most angles, it looked like Flagg simply reached over — without obvious contact — in a routine rebounding battle.

To be fair to the referees, those types of plays often draw automatic whistles. A player reaching over from behind almost always triggers the call, whether there’s real contact or not. But in this case, the consequences were enormous — and the margin between a clean contest and a foul felt razor-thin.

After Roberts sank both free throws to give Houston the lead, Duke still had a shot. But Flagg’s jumper with eight seconds left didn’t fall, and the Cougars secured the rebound. L.J. Cryer was fouled and calmly knocked down two more from the line to seal the win.

It was a dramatic finish — and a bitter pill for Duke, especially knowing how close they came. For critics of the program, it’s a collapse they’ll talk about for years. For the Blue Devils, it’s a what-if that might linger for a while.

Flagg’s great college career comes to a rough end due to the foul and missed shot. The freshman is the clear favorite to be selected first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. Had he not been reclassified, he would still be playing in high school today. He won multiple major national player of the year awards.