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Fans Thought Refs Got Game-Changing Call on Cooper Flagg Wrong in Duke's Final Four Loss

Kristen Wong

Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after a call following a play against the Houston Cougars during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome.
Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after a call following a play against the Houston Cougars during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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No. 1 Duke got stunned by No. 1 Houston in a 70-67 loss in the national semifinal of the men’s NCAA tournament Saturday night, suffering a complete collapse at the end of the game.

The Blue Devils may have thought they booked their trip to the NCAA championship game after star Cooper Flagg made a clutch three-pointer to give his team a nine-point lead with just over three minutes left.

But, Flagg would later be involved in a controversial play that ended up costing Duke dearly.

With 20 seconds left on the clock and with Houston having cut the deficit down to one, Duke guard Tyrese Proctor went to the free throw line. Proctor missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Flagg got called for a foul on the rebound.

That sent Houston’s J’Wan Roberts to the line (the Cougars were in the bonus), who sank both free throws to give Houston the late lead.

CBS broadcasters immediately disagreed with the call on Flagg, saying that they would have liked to see the players “play on” in that scenario. Flagg appeared to make only minimal contact with Roberts when he reached for the ball:

At the end of the day, there’s no excuse for Duke blowing its second-half double-digit lead, missing key free throws and making just two field goals in the final 13 minutes of a Final Four matchup. 

Still, the foul call on Flagg undoubtedly changed the game with many fans arguing the refs shouldn’t have played such a big role in the outcome:

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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