Last updated on February 11th, 2025 at 07:53 pm
The top-seed Cougars are out of the NCAA tournament Friday after Duke upsets Houston. The 4th-seed Blue Devils advance to the Elite 8, while Houston is the second top seed eliminated early in March Madness.
When starting guard Jamal Shead exited the game due to an ankle injury, the Cougars did not begin well. The CBS telecast showed Duke teammates calming benched player Shead as the game ended. Kyle Filipowski, a forward for the Blue Devils, played a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine boards.
Following Thursday’s Sweet 16 loss by No. 1 North Carolina to No. 4 Alabama, the Cougars became the second top seed to be eliminated early. According to PPH bookie sources, the other top seeds, Purdue and UConn, secured their place in the semifinals.
Duke Upsets Houston
Now in head coach Jon Scheyer’s first season at the helm, Duke will make its first trip in the Elite Eight since Mike Krzyzewski’s departure. After 42 years as head coach of the Duke Devils, Krzyzewski, fondly known as “Coach K,” resigned in 2022. He has more victories than any other men’s Division I college basketball coach in history.
According to basketball news reports, Duke is tied with Kansas for third all-time in program history with 24 appearances, behind only North Carolina (29 appearances) and Kentucky (38) in Elite Eight appearances. On Sunday at Dallas’s American Airlines Center, Duke faces eleventh-ranked North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Starting his second season as head coach, Scheyer reflected on the lessons he gained from Krzyzewski during his time as a player and assistant under him.
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