March 5, 2025, was a day that should have marked a major milestone for Jon Scheyer in the history books. His Duke Blue Devils were just one win away from entering an NCAA tournament championship game for the first time since 1999. As the matchup against the Houston Cougars progressed, it seemed that the odds were in his squad’s favor. Then, lo and behold, a 14-point lead was lost, shots were missed, and Duke fans were left in shock. At times like this, people wanted explanations. The head coach was willing to give them, but, at the same time, admitted that his team had nothing to be sorry about.

Jon Scheyer, along with star players Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, participated in a post-game presser after the devastating and close 70-67 loss. During the same, the coach outright admitted that “I’m not about to feel sorry for one second. These guys have done an incredible job. It’s heartbreaking. It’s incredibly disappointing. There’s a lot of pain that comes with this. That’s what the tournament is all about. You’re an inch away from the national championship game. But I could not be more proud of these two guys next to me.”

Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel performed admirably during the Duke-Houston matchup. Flagg, as expected, led the scoring effort by recording 27 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He made good use of the opportunities that came to him, as he made 8-19 (42.1%) field goals, 3-4 (75.0%) 3-pointers, and 8-8 (100.0%) free throws. Meanwhile, Kon Knueppel recorded his team’s 2nd highest points in the game, 16, by making 5-9 (55.6%) field goals, 3-5 (60%) 3-pointers, and 3-3 (100%) free throws.  Unfortunately, no other player from the squad managed to score in the double digits. This had an effect on the game’s offense that could have made or broken the team’s chances. Nevertheless, no one noticed this at first, as Duke boasted a 14-point lead with 8:17 remaining. It was from that moment onwards, however, that the tide began to change.

In the final 10:30 of the second half, Duke made just one successful field goal, allowing Houston to reel off a 25-9 run. Houston took 19 shot attempts to Duke’s nine, leading to 6 offensive boards for the Cougars and 5 Duke turnovers. Jon Scheyer’s squad had a chance to go ahead in the final seconds. However, Flagg fell short on a fall-away jumper as J’Wan Roberts defended him closely. The momentum change affected everything. As it turns out, the coach had experienced something of this nature before but did not seem to have learned his lesson.

“You know, I keep going back; we’re up six with under a minute to go. Houston, never once did I feel we were going to blow Houston out, even with that lead. Look, they were in that same position at Kansas. I was watching that game a couple (of ) days ago. You never feel like they’re out of it. So, I think, sure, you can look to that play,” said Scheyer. He further added, “We fouled them in the bonus. There’s a bunch of plays. But end of the day, you’re winning, you have the ball, and we came up empty twice with a missed free throw, and then a turnover. So, we just have to finish the deal. I don’t look at one play at being the momentum swinger by any means”.

Things went wrong in the final minute, and Scheyer knows it. After everything the team went through, by securing a win in the Conference tournament and the Conference regular season, and securing wins against major teams to secure a spot in the Final Four, it all came down to a few minutes. In regards to his players, the coach felt that no fault needs to be placed on their shoulders. However, this did not mean that Scheyer himself wasn’t willing to accept some responsibility.

Jon Scheyer admitted to personal guilt after Duke’s Final Four loss

It is not easy to follow in the footsteps of a man like Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K. When promoted to the head coach position in 2022, Jon Scheyer had a huge load of expectations on his shoulders. This was a man for whom Duke was a major part of his life. He played for the team for 4 years, served as an assistant coach for another 4 years, and then was the associate HC for another 4 years. Therefore, if anyone should have known the squad best, it was him. Unfortunately, according to Scheyer himself, he failed to understand what was needed best for his squad.

“We believed with everything we had, we were gonna win a championship here. I didn’t help them enough. That’s where my mind goes,” said the 37-year-old. Scheyer specifically believed that Duke’s lack of experience in close games was an area where he felt he dropped the ball. He iterated this viewpoint by stating, “We haven’t been in a lot of those games. We’ve watched a lot of games situations and practiced (it). That’s where I wish I could’ve helped them more.”

As highlighted by The Sporting News, the Duke Blue Devils won many games this year through multiple possessions. Meanwhile, Houston had experience in close games. The result of that experience contrast was seen in the game’s final minutes. While nothing can be done now, one can expect Jon Scheyer to take this lesson and use it to improve the Duke squad in the coming season.