Dave Portnoy is not entertaining any complaints from Duke fans about last night’s officiating.
Duke’s 2024-25 season ended in stunning fashion Saturday night, with the Blue Devils blowing a 14-point lead in the final eight minutes and a six-point advantage in the final 45 seconds to lose 70-67 to Houston at the Final Four. Duke’s lead ended for good when star freshman forward Cooper Flagg was called for and over-the-back foul on a missed free throw by teammate Tyrese Proctor with 20.3 seconds remaining and Houston’s J’Wan Roberts sunk both ensuring free throws to put his team ahead.
The foul call on Flagg has been scrutinized since last night, but Portnoy doesn’t want to hear it.
On X/Twitter this morning, the Barstool Sports founder pointed the finger at other factors in Duke’s collapse.
“Duke fans complaining about this foul call are babies,” Portnoy said. “You blew it. You couldn’t inbound the ball. You dribbled it off your leg. Proctor played hero ball and missed free throw. A million chances to seal it and you’re gonna blame the ref? Loser talk from losers.”
Portnoy isn’t wrong. Yes, the foul on Flagg was questionable and it stinks to see the game partially decided on a judgment call like that.
However, Duke led 59-45 with 8:11 left and was still up by nine with a little over two minutes to play. They were in complete control.
If the Blue Devils could have gotten a couple of more defensive stops or rebounded better–not to mention handled inbounding the ball against Houston’s full-court pressure–they would be moving on to face Florida for the national championship tomorrow night.
Instead, Houston pulled off one of the largest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history and put an abrupt end to one of the best Duke teams we’ve seen in the last two decades.
Flagg and some of his teammates are off to the NBA, but this game will linger as a bitter memory for them.
In the meantime, it’s going to be a long offseason in Durham for head coach Jon Scheyer and anybody who is returning for Duke in 2025-26.
Related: Cooper Flagg Gets Honest About Duke’s Final Four Loss To Houston