Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg is the surefire favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer's NBA Draft for good reason. Flagg is one of the more polished draft prospects in recent memory, and he was much of the reason Duke made the Final Four in the first place.
As 67 teams learn the hard way, there can be only one champion. Despite dominating most of the game itself, Flagg and Duke fell apart late in the second half. With the game tied late in regulation, Flagg appeared to grab an offensive rebound, but was called for an over-the-back foul. We'll let you be the judge, but it's easy to see where Flagg lands.
Cooper Flagg called for a foul here. This gives Houston free throws on the other end. The announcers do not like the call pic.twitter.com/JwSNz6UWrB
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) April 6, 2025
Flagg didn't make much contact with the Houston player's upper body, which would have warranted a call against him in the first place. To make matters worse, that foul gave Houston two free throws and the lead, which all but sunk the Blue Devils sinking ship with little time left to recover.
How did Cooper Flagg react to the questionable call against him in Duke loss?
At his postgame press conference, Flagg chose not to spend much time at all discussing the Duke collapse or the over-the-back foul against him. Rather, Flagg cared more about the friends he made along the way.
"I can speak for myself, and for the rest of the guys, and say that the connections and relationships we had all year long, was phenomenal," Flagg said. "I wouldn't have wanted it to be with anyone else, so I hope that was able to shine through on the court, and people can remember us and appreciate the way that we were able to play and the effort that we gave for one another."
Flagg won the AP National Player of the Year award this weekend, as he finished the season averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Flagg acknowledged that his experience in Durham was everything he could've wanted.
"I mean, it was an incredible season. Incredible people, incredible relationships that I'm going to have for the rest of my life," Flagg continued. "It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but still an incredible year."
While Flagg has said he wants to return to school next season, actually doing so would be an absolute shocker. Flagg has a lot of money to make – and lose – with his eventual NBA Draft decision.