Michael Jordan’s ex-teammate singles out Duke’s two crucial mistakes that led to Cooper Flagg & Co.'s downfall

On Saturday night, Duke's men's team found themselves on the cusp of punching their ticket for the national championship. Following a thrilling matchup against Houston, one former NBA player chimed in with their thoughts.

This battle of No. 1 seeds ended up coming down to the final possessions, with Houston escaping with a 70-67 victory. Many fans and analysts were left stunned by the matchup, as the Blue Devils have been a heavy favorite since the start of the NCAA Tournament.

With under 20 seconds to go in the game, Cooper Flagg was called for a foul that countless fans have spoken out against online. While people continue to cite this play as a key reason for Duke's downfall, Ron Harper sees it a bit differently. The longtime teammate of Michael Jordan shared his two key reasons on X (formerly Twitter) on why the Blue Devils came up short.

"Stop it!!!! They missed free throws and couldn’t inbound the ball not one bad call now..," he wrote.

The Blue Devils shot pretty well as a team from the free-throw line (78.3%), but they did miss five of their 23 attempts. This was almost on par with Houston, who shot 14-for-18 from the line in the Final Four matchup.

With this nail-biting victory, Houston advances to the National Championship game, where they will face off against Florida.

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Cooper Flagg almost lifted Duke over Houston in tight Final Four matchup

Despite their collapse in the final minute and change, Duke still found themselves with an opportunity to escape with a win and send Houston home. They were able to get the ball in the hands of their best player, but he came up just short.

After being arguably the most dominant player in college basketball all season, Cooper Flagg is a player many had their eyes on in the NCAA Tournament. Down one with under 20 seconds to go, the touted prospect had the ball in the game's biggest moment.

Flagg was able to get a pretty clean look around the free-throw line, but his shot fell short. Houston secured the rebound and proceeded to hit their foul shots to seal the Blue Devils' fate.

Even though Flagg couldn't get this shot to fall, he did everything he could to put Duke in a position to win. In 36 minutes of action, he notched 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks.

Now that his season is over, all eyes will be on Flagg to see what he does next in his basketball journey. As of now, the versatile forward is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.